How We Met Our Baby
by poeticgrace
Summary: A one nightstand and a near death experience make two people see life in a very different way. Barney/Robin.
1. Chapter 1

There are some things you just don't do to your best friend. You don't leave him stranded alone at a bar in the West Village to fight a crowd of drunken frat boys. You don't screen his calls after he has been sick for two weeks, even if you're in the midst of a Farrelly brothers marathon. You don't give his Radiohead ticket to a girl you met last night at the laundry mat just because she smiled at you, especially when he got up at 6 a.m. and waited with you in the freezing rain for prime seats. You don't hit on his little sister that finally turned 18 after two long years of quiet yearning. And most of all, you don't hook up with the woman he dated for more than a year and truly believed was the love of his life.

Barney Stinson had no intention of falling in love with his best friend's girl, but somewhere between a game of laser tag in designer suits and getting hit by a bus, he had fallen completely for the breathtaking brunette news anchor. With her quirky sense of humor and Canadian accent, she was everything he had never thought he would want but exactly what he needed. She was his equal in every way. For a long time, he had never thought he would find anyone as good as him, but she was almost better actually. She was intelligent and savvy on a million topics, could drink and curse like a sailor, loved to smoke the occasional cigar in an upscale lounge and was actually capable of hanging with the guys. She was ballsy enough to do pretty much any dare in exchange for money, even if it meant doing it on live television during the evening news.

But there was another side to Robin that he had also fallen in love with, too. There was the softer version of her that she rarely let anyone see. She liked to pretend that she was outgoing and fun-loving, and she is those things. She's also pure with the way she giggles like a little girl every time she laughs. She takes care of the people that matter to her, like the way she tried to cheer him up with their day of laser tag or watched over him when he was sick. There are times when she can be incredibly vulnerable, which probably explains how they ended up making out on her couch after she broke up with Simon. She's even a little nerdy with her terribly embarrassing history as a Canadian pop superstar, teased hair and stonewashed denim.

There were a million things to love about Robin, but the fact that he knew these things didn't make it alright. He had almost lost Ted after he had slept with Robin, and it had been one of the hardest things Barney had ever been through. The last thing on his mind that fateful morning waking up was how it could potentially destroy a friendship he valued above all others. He could only think about how amazing it was that they had found themselves in that place and how long it would be before Robin would call him a mistake. It was only later, in the backseat of a car, did he realize the ramifications the one-night stand would have on his life. In one fell swoop, he had managed to lose his best friend and the girl that he was falling for.

Ted eventually forgave him after realizing that he had risked his life just to find out of if he was okay. Given the chance, Barney knew that he would make the same mistake all over again and end up unconscious on that pavement. It was worth it if it meant having his best friend in his life. It was also worth the way the slow realization came over him when he realized that he was in love with Robin as he lay their in the hospital bed. Lily and Marshall had joked that he had seen money and suits and breasts when he had nearly died, but they had no clue the images that had flashed in his mind. How could they? They would never understand.

The truth was that Barney had seen the same images in that moment that had ran through his mind millions of times when he couldn't fall asleep late at night when he was in bed alone. He thought about the way she cheekily cocked her eyebrows one night when they were all at MacLaren's, telling Ted why they all didn't like one of his many flings. There was the way she had pulled on his tie when he was kissing her on her couch. He loved that she didn't care what she looked like at the gym, even if it made her look like a lesbian prison guard as Lily so lovingly pointed out. It was small moments really, things that he doubted anyone else would remember. However, those were the things that he remembered, those were the things that kept him hanging on.

After two long weeks in the hospital, Barney was still hanging on those thoughts to help him through the lonely nights alone there. His friends tried to stop by as much as they could. Lily had even came up with a schedule to make sure that someone was there nearly all the time during visiting hours, but nine o'clock would eventually would come and Marshall or Lily or Robin or Ted would wander off to go meet up with the others at their favorite pub. Barney hated those moments the most because the quiet gave him too much time to think and too little noise to drown out the nagging thoughts in the back of his brain. However, unbeknownst to anyone but him, he also coveted that time just after midnight when the nurses would change shifts and someone would slip through his door to sit and watch over him.

Robin had started coming by after that first night when Marshall and Lily had headed back to their slanted apartment to get some sleep. She had left with them too, making some excuse about needing to finish research for a story the next night. Hours later, she had crept into his dark room and sat silently by his bed while he slept. When she accidentally hit her knee against the nightstand, he was jarred from his fitful rest to find her gazing down at him tenderly. Neither of them said anything about it, then or since. They never discussed her late night visits and rarely spoke during them. It was just enough to be together.

However, those nightly visits were about to come to an end because Barney was finally coming home from the hospital today. His friends were coming to pick him up in a few minutes, and he couldn't wait to be home. He had tried to tell them that he would just hire a private nurse to come take care of him, but they had insisted that someone be with him at all times. He still wasn't sure who was going to take him home. With his different appendages still wrapped in white casts, it wasn't like he could really take himself. As he glanced down at the different artwork his friends had decorated his body canvas with, he remembered not for the first time how lucky he is.

"Well, Mr. Stinson, it looks like this is where we part ways," announced Sheila, a spunky nurse in her mid-50s that had taken a particular liking to Barney during his stay in the hospital. He admired the way she said exactly what was on her mind, much like he did. She'd also come to like his friends, especially Robin, she was quick to point out. "I believe that your friend is waiting outside in the hall. Why don't we get you loaded up in your wheel chair so that you can get out of here?"

Barney nodded his head eagerly as a pair of orderlies came in to help him. "So, who is it?" he whispered to Sheila as she helped him adjust the footrests on his new chair. The nurse shrugged her shoulders and told him that he would just have to wait and see. He started to whine like a child, hoping to break her down, but she wasn't having any of it. She quickly put him in his place. "Well, Sheila, you've been awesome, and as you know, I don't take that word lightly."

The nurse laughed as she dismissed the men from the room and started to push Barney through the doorway. Barney couldn't believe how excited he was to see who had come to pick him up. It's not like it was that big of a deal. He figured that it would be Ted now that he had the extra room in his apartment. It'd be hard to maneuver his wheelchair in Lily and Marshall's place. Robin worked nights, so she wouldn't be able to help him. Ted could at least work from home and had a spacious elevator that could accommodate all of Barney's new baggage. It had to be Ted.

Yet, as he rounded the corner, he felt his heart drop through his feet when he saw her standing there, hands resting on jutted hips. She was dressed in the same sleek black suit she had worn the night of laser tag with a box of cigars tucked under one arm and a bottle Johnnie Walker in the other hand. "It's not exactly roses or anything, but I figure it will make those pain meds a hell of a lot more fun," she deadpanned as Sheila brought him to a stop in front of her.

Barney grinned at her, still surprised to see her standing there. "I can't believe it's you," he retorted sheepishly, instantly kicking himself for sounding like a lovelorn adolescent with a crush on the girl who sits in front of him in math class. "I mean, I can't believe you'd do this for me. You work nights, so I just figured you all would stick Ted with me."

Robin tilted her head slightly and smiled genuinely. "We played Rock Paper Scissors, and I lost," she joked. "Actually, with Ted and Stella newly engaged and Lily and Marshall having that monstrosity of an apartment, I kind of got stuck with you. Besides, we can't have you rolling downhill in their apartment and running into the doors. You already almost broke your brain once."

He wanted to laugh at her bad attempt at a joke, but he was still in awe of the fact that she had showed up for him today. "It's not too late for me to hire a nurse," he attempted, hoping that she wouldn't agree. "I don't want to put you out, Robin. Between work and the dogs, I know you're too busy."

"Actually, I'm not," she assured him, coming around behind his wheelchair to push him outside where a cab was waiting to take them back to her apartment. "I took off the next two weeks to take care of you. I had a lot of vacation days that I never used, so it'll be paid. And the dogs are actually on their way home to Canada to live with my parents. My sister came down a few days ago to pick them up. Some guy just bought out my building and told us that we had to get rid of any pets. I guess it'll be better for them since they'll have more ground to run around on…"

Barney tried to listen as Robin rambled about her pets and their farm back home, but all he could focus on was on the fact that he was going to spend the next two weeks with her nonstop. She always rambled when she was nervous while he became eerily silent. Their extreme reactions at that moment illustrated just how anxious they were both feeling. The hot summer air hit his face all at once as they exited the hospital and waited for the cabbie to load his bags into the trunk. Then, with the help of one of the orderlies, he managed to crawl into backseat while Robin his wheelchair away. "This will be a lot easier when you are on crutches," she smiled as she slid into the seat next to him. "Everyone is waiting at my place to help you get settled in."

"Why didn't they just come with you?"

"I wanted to come alone."

"What?" he asked. "Why?"

Robin looked at him for a long moment before shrugging. "Just because."

"Robin, come on, why?"

"Barney, there's no reason. You just got out of the hospital, and we have plenty of time for you to ask me paranoid questions."

Barney watched as she turned her head to stare out the window. It was clear that she was hiding something, and whatever it was clearly bothered her. Timidly, he reached out and tilted her chin to bring her wavering eyes to his. He could see unshed tears dwelling just below the surface as he slid his other hand into hers. "Please, tell me."

"I think I'm pregnant."


	2. Chapter 2

There are some things a good girl just doesn't do. A good girl doesn't leave her best friend drunk at a fraternity party in college just so she can go makeout with the captain of the rugby team. A good girl stays behind to hold her best friend's hair and rub her back while she throws up in a stained toilet, even if it means sitting on a disgusting floor in her new white capris. A good girl doesn't put off going home for her father's birthday just because she has great tickets to a show she has been dying to see for months. A good girl gives those tickets away, flies home for a long weekend and puts on a smile for her parents' benefits. A good girl doesn't call in sick on a Friday night just so she can take advantage of the closeout shoe sale at Barney's. A good girl doesn't ignore the homeless man outside her building every morning when she goes out to jog, even if he tries to grope her constantly. A good girl doesn't curse at the witch who steals her cab in the middle of a thunderstorm. And most importantly, a good girl doesn't sleep with her ex-boyfriend's best friend.

Robin didn't mean to sleep with Barney. Sure, it sounded like a horrible excuse because it's not like sex is something that randomly happens on accident. She couldn't even blame their lustful interlude on alcohol or revenge or hatred. The truth was that she had ended up on that couch with Barney feeling sorry for herself after Simon broke up with her a second time. Looking back, she still couldn't believe that she had put herself in a situation where that loser could hurt her again, but there was no getting over some people. They just have this spell over you. For a long time, she had had that effect on Ted, but he had moved on. He was engaged to Stella, and Robin was truly happy for them. The instant you saw the two of them together, you just felt like clicked. She couldn't predict if it would last forever, but it seemed right for now at least. She had seen the same thing with Marshall and Lily, and now, against everything that screamed in her body, she had seen it with herself. With Barney.

There were a million reasons to hate everything Barney stood for. He was the most arrogant person she had ever met, constantly building up his confidence with diatribes of his "awesomeness." She knew that his faux arrogance secretly came from low self-esteem and a need for people to accept him, but it didn't make it any less appealing. He used women for his own gratification and often concocted horrible stories when it was time to cut them loose. Some women didn't even get an excuse, he would simply stop calling. He was one of the most immature people Robin had ever been around. Ted, Marshall and Barney all three acted like they were still in college sometimes with their adolescent antics and pranks. Yet, despite knowing all that, Robin still found herself on that couch. She found herself gazing into his eyes. She found her body heating up. She found his face slowly creeping toward hers. She found his lips pressing against her mouth. She felt herself falling into him.

And when the morning came, Robin found herself waking up next to him and not knowing what to do next. She was usually so careful to plan every step of a relationship. She had always felt this need to know what was going to happen next. However, with Barney, there was no way to predict what was going to happen. The only way she could get out of this unscathed was to play it cool and distance herself. She knew the type of guy Barney was, and that man would never want anything more than a one-night stand with her. He would tell her that this was a mistake, and she needed to let him know that she agreed. Even if she didn't feel the same, she would pretend. Spending the last three years around him without admitting to herself how she felt, Robin had become an expert at pretending.

So, Robin and Barney agreed to keep their secret. She could have taken it to the grave, but Barney had confided in Marshall under some ridiculous attorney-client privilege scheme that included a bowling ball. She was still a little fuzzy on the details. Events unfolded and eventually Ted and Lily knew, too. Ted had gone pretty easy on her, but their little misstep had nearly cost Barney his best friend. It had been hell watching Ted and Barney go through that with her in the middle. She hated knowing that she had caused it. If Barney hadn't nearly died trying to get to Ted, they would still be in that place. In some regards, Robin was almost glad that it had happened, but when she really thought about it, she knew how much she could have lost before she ever got the chance to really have it.

It was during Barney's two-week stint in the hospital when Robin realized that something was amiss with her body. At first she had chalked it up to the stress of everything that had happened. She was spending all of her time at the hospital watching over Barney, barely eating or getting any sleep. However, when she went a full seven days without any sign of her period, she knew that something was definitely wrong. She'd never been more than a day late since she was twelve. She knew even before she took the test what the result would be. Still, she peed on the little white plastic stick all alone in her cramped bathroom and sobbed on the cold tile floor when she saw her future staring back at her in the tiny window. She should have been happy to be pregnant by the man she was in love with, but she only felt fear. What if he didn't want the baby? What if he didn't want her?

When it finally came time for him to be released, Robin prepared herself to step up and take responsibility. She needed to find a way to tell him in her own time and having two weeks alone with him would give her that chance. Ted had offered to put him up in his apartment while Stella was away visiting her parents. Lily and Marshall said that they would figure out a way to keep his wheelchair from sliding around too much. Barney had even said that he would hire a nurse so that his friends wouldn't be inconvenienced. There were plenty of options, but Robin wanted to do this. She needed to do this. It was the only way.

That decision was what had led her here to this moment, her hands poised on the handles of his wheelchair as they headed outside into the bright New York sun. She had left her cab idling at the curb when she went inside to get him. Now, she was sitting in the backseat next to him, more nervous than she had even been in her life. She had thought she'd been a wreck the first time she had ever reported live on air, but that was nothing compared to this. She kept telling herself to get it together, but she never could. She knew that he sensed something was wrong by the way he looked at her. He was always doing that, looking at her as if to try to figure her out. Finally, he asked what was wrong and she tried to play it off but he pursued her.

"I think I'm pregnant."

There, she had said. She had only been living with the secret for a week, but those seven days counted among the hardest in her life. Every time she talked to Lily on the phone, she felt like she was lying to her best friend by not telling her. Every time she had a drink with Ted, she felt deceitful for hiding the truth. Most of all, every night when she watched over Barney, she hated keeping this part of herself from him. Now that she had put it out there, it was out there. There was no turning back and she would just have to accept the aftermath as it would come.

"What?"

Robin avoided his gaze as she looked out the window beside her. She hadn't even realized that they were moving until they stopped again at a red light a few blocks from the hospital. "I'm pregnant, Barney. I took a test last week, and it came out positive. I'm having a baby."

"How?"

She turned to him and stifled a giggle. "I'm pretty sure you know. You were there."

Barney's mouth quirked into a smile for a brief second before turning grave again. "That's not what I meant, Robin," he retorted. "I mean, how did this happen? We were safe. I always make sure I'm safe, you know that. I've even convinced Ted to bring me condoms before hooking up with a chick."

As much as she had tried to prepare herself for this question, it still killed her to hear him ask it. It was almost accusatory, like he was insinuating that she had done this on purpose. She'd quit taking the pill a month after she broke up with Ted and had solely relied on condoms for birth control. Apparently, she was fertile enough to need double, make that triple, protection. "Condoms are only like 99 percent effective, Barney," she pointed out. "We used one but it apparently didn't work."

He seemed almost nervous as he listened to her, uncharacteristically chewing on his nails. "If I was in a better state of mind I would comment on how legendary my sperm is to beat those odds, but for once in my life, I don't feel like making a joke," he said seriously. "What are we going to do?"

That was the other question Robin had tried to prepare herself for. She had thought about it a lot, weighing every option and pro and con. The truth was that she knew what she wanted even before she knew for sure that she was carrying his baby. "I want to have the baby," she answered honestly. "You can be involved as much or as little as you want. There's no pressure. We don't have to figure all this out now, especially in the back of the cab, but I do know that I'm having this child. I'm not some teenager. I'm a woman, and I have to deal with the consequences of my action."

Barney turned her then and nodded slowly. "I won't let you do this alone. I'm not sure how I feel about it, Robin. I can pretty much guarantee that at some point I am going to freak out and act like a jerk, but I just want you to remember that I will come back. I promise that you're not going to do this alone. I will take care of you and our baby."

Touched by his words, Robin reached across the leather seat for his hand and squeezed it tightly. "Thanks for the we," she smiled as she scooted closer to him. It had been a long time since she had felt this close to anyone, but she felt safe with Barney. She knew the chances were high that he would break her heart, but she trusted that he would never break their child's heart. "I have a doctor's appointment in three days. I would have made it sooner, but I wanted to give you some time to settle in. I wasn't sure when I was going to tell you. You don't have to go if you don't want to."

Robin's eyes fluttered shut as Barney pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Here they were, him with his broken bones, and he was taking care of her. She guessed that she had taken care of him enough, maybe it was time that he start taking care of her. "Of course I want to go with you," he avowed as the car pulled up in front of her building. His eyes drifted up to her window and lit up as he saw his friends' shadows through the curtains. "Do they know?"

"You're the only one I told. I didn't want to tell them until you knew," she assured him. "In fact, I'm thinking that we should hold off on telling them for awhile. And I don't mean how we weren't going to tell Ted about us sleeping together. I really want to keep this between us, Barney. Ted just got engaged, and he deserves the spotlight. We have plenty of time before we have to tell them. Besides, I want to wait awhile to make sure that everything goes okay before we tell people."

She knew that he was reluctant to agree but was glad when he did anyhow. "If that's what you want, I'll keep it a secret for now," he agreed as she helped him out of the cab. His eyes were still fixed on the window and at Ted, Marshall and Lily waving frantically from upstairs. "I guess we should go upstairs. They're waiting for us."

The cabbie helped Robin and Barney to the elevator with his luggage and left them alone with a sizable tip in hand. They were both quiet in the elevator on the way up, neither wanting to the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them. Marshall was waiting when the lift arrived to their floor to take the bags into the apartment. Lily was standing in the open doorway while Ted was struggling to rehang the "Welcome Home, Barney" banner that had fallen from above the kitchen. Lily had just finished hugging Barney when Ted came over to join the crowd. He threw his arm around his friend's shoulder and smiled up at Robin. "Anything interesting happen on the way home from the hospital?"


	3. Chapter 3

Ted had spent the last fifteen minutes trying to help Barney get comfortable and wanting to ignore the obvious tension between his best friend and his ex-girlfriend. It had taken watching Barney nearly die before Ted could forgive him for his transgression. Their friendship had nearly been severed beyond repair. However, knowing what Barney had gone through to be there for him, Ted had to let it go. It suddenly didn't seem to matter anymore. The past was the past, and both Robin and Ted had moved on. He was happily engaged to Stella, a woman that he never expected to meet or fall in love with. Robin was free to move on with whomever she chose. Still, Ted couldn't help but hold onto the smallest bit of hope that person would not be his friend.

"Thank you all for coming by," Barney yawned. In his tired state, he couldn't find the energy to muster the cocky persona he liked to portray. It was only in those rare moments when he actually allowed that façade to fall away in front of anyone, even his closest friends. Lily and Marshall were sitting together on the loveseat, their legs haphazardly thrown over each other. Ted was sitting on Robin's coffee table, absently fingering the fringed hem of Barney's blanket. Robin was leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, a mug of green tea in her hands. Barney exchanged a quick look with her and noted the exhaustion mirrored in her eyes. "I really appreciate everything you guys have done to help me, but I am beat. I'd just like to get some sleep."

Lily nodded as she disentangled herself from her husband and walked over to the hospital bed that now dominated most of Robin's living room. She leaned over the edge of the spacious mattress and kissed her friend on the cheek. Pressing his hair back from his face, she couldn't help but feel a maternal twinge for the blonde man. "I will by after school tomorrow to stay with you while Robin goes to work," she told him. "If you think of anything you need from your apartment, just send me an email and I'll bring it by then." She patted his hand and started to walk away when she turned back and looked at him over his shoulder. "That doesn't include girls."

Snorts of laughter filled the air as Marshall slipped past his wife to bid his friend goodnight. "I'll be by the next morning to hang out for awhile. Since I don't have a job, I have a lot of free time on my hands. I guess you get to be my entertainment for the next few weeks," Marshall declared as he bumped his fist against Barney's. "And unlike Lily over there, I will bring you girls if that's what you need. The healing powers of love are incredible."

Ted rolled his eyes as he came around the other side of the bed. He slapped Barney on the shoulder. "I don't really think that love ever works itself into the equation with any of the women Barney sleeps with," he teased lightly. He reached beneath the bed and laid a paper shopping bag in his friend's lap. "I brought you the full collection from last year. I couldn't remember where you keep all your _Playboy_ archives, but I figured that this would get you through at least the next few days."

Barney rubbed his hand over his face in embarrassment. His friends' jokes would have been funny just a few weeks ago before the accident, but he had changed. They had no idea how different he had become in such a short time. He changed even more when he found out that he was going to become a father. He didn't want to be this guy anymore, the empty and shallow womanizer who didn't even really like himself. He wanted to be the guy that was worthy of a woman like Robin. However, he wasn't sure that his friends were ready for him to be that guy. "Thanks, Ted," he smiled sleepily, peering into the bag.

Robin came over and pulled it from his weak grasp. She shoved it under the bed before starting to herd her friends toward the door. "I really appreciate everything you did to get the place ready. I'll call you tomorrow if I need anything, and Lily, thanks for taking the first night shift," she rattled as she opened the door. Marshall was the first to tumble out into the hallway, pulling a reluctant Lily behind him. Ted pulled on his coat and looked over his ex-girlfriend's shoulder at his friend. Barney was already starting to fall asleep. "Good night, guys."

"Good night," the three said in unison before heading down the hallway toward the elevator. As she pushed her door shut, she could hear Ted making plans with Lily and Marshall to meet Stella for drinks at their favorite bar.

Not too long ago, she had been the one they would have been calling. Now, she was a pregnant woman stuck at home with her unborn child's invalid father…a father that was Barney. Robin tried not to feel too sorry for herself as she kicked off her shoes and pulled off her shirt to reveal a white ribbed tank. "You can quit pretending to sleep," she announced as she came over to his bed. Barney opened his eyes and offered her a small smile. He moved over in the bed so that she could sit at the foot of the mattress. Stretching her long legs out in front of her, she leaned back against the pillow he had handed to her so that she could look at him. "So, that was hard."

"Ted knows that we have a secret," Barney grimaced. "It was hard enough keeping one the first time around, and we both know how bad that backfired for me. We're going to have to be honest with our friends sooner or later. If history has taught me anything, I elect that we go with sooner. I don't really think I could handle having to endure another near-death experience to try to make it up to Ted again."

Robin laughed humorlessly as she looked down at her still flattened stomach. In a matter of weeks, she would start to show and the truth would be out. There was no going back from that, from any of this. One snap decision a month ago had changed the course of her entire life. No matter what happened, she would forever be tied to Barney through this child. She knew the mere thought of that should scare the hell out of her, but it didn't. It was strangely comforting to know that no matter she would always mean something to him, even if it was just as the mother of his child. "I know that we're going to have to tell them, but I think we can wait a little bit. I'm just getting used to it myself, and I just told you. We deserve a little time to ourselves."

"We have so much to figure out. Eight months seems like such a long time but it's not when it could possibly define the next eighteen years of our lives," he realized aloud. Propping himself up on one elbow, he stared down at Robin. Her eyes were fixed on the white ceiling above, her hair fanned out over the pillow. Barney was sure that he had never seen anyone look more beautiful. He couldn't help but just feel an incredible swell of love for her in that moment. "Robin, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?" she muttered, not bothering to avert her gaze to him. She allowed her eyes to flutter shut and pulled his blanket up around her chin. The exhaustion was really starting to set in, a trend she knew would only become more dominant over the next several months. She lavished in the warmth of his pajama-clad body next to hers. "What is it, Barney?"

He tried to ignore the tingling sensation sweeping over his body as she pressed her leg against his. They may have spent the night together, but he had never been more intimate with Robin than this. "Do you think I'll be a good father?" he asked honestly. "I mean, I already know that you are going to make an incredible mother. Just look at the way that you've taken care of me. I'm just not sure that I am going to be any good at this parenting thing. I've always been good at everything I've done. Whenever I wanted something, I went after it until it was mine. I'm just not sure I can use that same tenacious drive in being a father. What if I screw up this kid?"

"Not possible," she declared confidently. She was sitting up now with her eyes wide open. Robin let her hand rest on Barney's ankle on top of the sheet. It was such a small gesture, but she needed to touch him, to feel connected to him. "I know that loving someone isn't an easy thing for you, Barney, but when you find someone you care about, you would give anything for that person. I've seen how much you care about Marshall and Ted, and they're just your friends. Imagine how much you are going to love our baby."

"Our baby," he repeated. He liked the sound of that. Fear would never be a problem if he could just focus on those two words. They could be his secret weapon. "I can't believe we're really having a baby."

"Me neither," Robin sighed as she threw herself back against the mattress. She listened to Barney yawn before stretching her limbs across the bed. "I should probably go to bed. This pregnancy thing is really kicking my ass."

Barney yawned again as she started to crawl from the tangle of sheets encasing them both. He reached down and pulled her back to the bed. "Don't go, at least not yet," he implored. Robin bit her bottom lip expectantly, waiting for him to say something or explain. He pulled back the edge of his blankets and moved over slightly in the bed. It was a hard maneuver for him to pull off, but he managed to do it successfully. "Stay with me for awhile. I don't want to be alone."

She knew that she had two choices. She could lie to herself, say that this isn't what she wants and go to bed alone in her room. Or Robin could allow herself to admit the truth, accept that maybe this is what she wants and allow him to hold her just this one time. The first one seemed like the logical choice, the safe one that would probably keep them from hurting each other anymore. "Me neither," she proclaimed as she slipped beneath the blankets next to him. He didn't wrap his arms around her or try to hold her. He simply took her hand in his and held it over his racing heart. She turned slightly and snuggled her chin into the curve of his neck. "You know that this isn't a good idea."

"I know," he conceded as he tried to ignore the tickle of her breath on his skin. He wanted so much to turn his head and swallow that breath with a kiss. "Since when have I ever chosen the good idea? That's not how I live my life, Robin, we both know that."

"It's different now," she retorted hazily. "We're going to have a kid."

"Yeah, we're having a kid," he repeated, his words punctuated for emphasis. "Think about it, does that really sound like a good idea? Logically, it doesn't make sense. None of the last few months makes sense. You and I sure as hell don't make sense. But all of that happened. It's not really that different. It's just something else."

"And what is that?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "A future? A life? A family? To someone else, it would be a whole host of things. I'm not sure what it is to us."

It was Robin's turn to yawn. Barney arranged the blanket over their bodies and waited for her to respond. "Maybe it can be a little bit of all those things," she decided. "I guess it doesn't have to be conventional. Nothing up to this point has been, why change it now? I just want to give this kid the best life possible. With two parents like us, I'm not sure what chance he or she has."

Barney shrugged next to her. "As good a chance as any kid," he told her. "I think you're not giving us enough credit here. We could have hated each other after that night. We could have never spoken again. Instead, you have been an amazing friend to me these past few weeks. You could have run when you found out that you were pregnant, you could have shut me out of your life. Instead, you chose to be honest with me and allowed me to decide if I wanted to be a father. We've done pretty well up to this point. I think we'll find a way to make sure we don't ruin that."

"You're different tonight," she accused him softly. "You're almost vulnerable."

"It's the exhaustion. I'll be back to myself in the morning."

"No, I don't think so," she predicted as her voice trailed off. Robin listened to the slower pace of Barney's breathing. They were both drifting off now. Laying her arm across his chest, she nestled her cold feet beneath his leg and tried not to think about what it would be like waking up in the morning. She just wanted to focus on how she felt right now. She wanted to let herself admit that this felt good…that it felt a lot like love. "I think we've both already changed."


	4. Chapter 4

Robin woke up the next morning feeling warm, safe and completely refreshed. When her eyes first fluttered open, she didn't recognize the surroundings of her living room. However, as she settled a little further into consciousness, she slowly began to remember that she had fallen asleep in Barney's bed and apparently in his arms. She felt him stir slightly behind her and then settle back down as he snored lightly. There were two things she could do. She could try to maneuver her way out from underneath his arms and head off for a very cold shower in the bathroom alone, or she could enjoy the feeling of being with him like this and wait for him to wake up. The logic in her brain screamed at her for to choose option number one, but her heart knew that she would pick the second one. She was in love with this very complicated man and was going to have his baby. If she couldn't have a life with him, she was determined to have at least this morning.

Turning over in his arms, she watched him sleep peacefully. Then, as if he knew she was watching him, his pale blue eyes opened slightly and focused on her. A lazy smile spread across his lips as he mouthed, "Good morning." Robin returned the smile, trying not to shiver as he reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Barney normally hated waking up next to a woman, but all those usual feelings of immediate dread didn't exist with Robin. He only felt contentment. "I guess you never really made it to bed."

She had feared that when they woke up, Barney would be back to his usual cocky and boastful self. She was afraid that she had imagined the changed man that had reassured her about their impending parenthood would be completely gone. Robin was relieved to know that same vulnerable guy was still there in her living room with his arms around her. "Well, it was just so cozy here," she drawled. "Besides, the baby wanted to stay here. Whatever the baby wants, the baby gets. Mommy is too tired to argue with him or her."

"Mommy," he repeated with a smile. It was still new to him, and he couldn't believe that Robin was going to be a mommy. She was going to be a mommy to his baby. He was going to be a daddy. "Robin, about what we talked about last night? I just wanted to say that I meant what I said. We're going to figure this out."

Robin nodded her head in agreement, willing herself to believe him, to believe _in_ him. He might have messed up a lot of things in his life, but she knew that he could be counted on when it really mattered. There were few people that Barney loved, but he showed up for the people that he did let into his heart. She'd seen it with Ted, and now, she was seeing it with their child. "I know that we will, Barn," she assured him. "I just might need you to remind me of that when I get scared again. We have a long time until this baby makes a grand appearance, so it's bound to happen."

"A future, a life, a family," he reminded her. "We'll figure out the right combination before this baby comes. I don't want you to be scared. I'm here for the long haul. I won't walk away and leave you to figure this out alone."

Closing her eyes, Robin pressed her forehead against Barney's for a moment, letting the intimacy dwell comfortably between them. She'd really had a hard time trusting anyone after her breakup with Ted. Things had been a mess between them, and it was only the second time she'd really had to endure heartbreak. Opening herself up to the possibility of trusting Barney was a scary thing, but she knew that she had to for her child's sake. She had to trust that he would be there. "I'll try," she vowed to him, knowing that he would understand just exactly what she was promising. "Since you are determined to be here for me, I think I'll let you figure out how we're going to tell our friends."

Without breaking contact from Robin, Barney chuckled softly and looked into her eyes. "Nice try, Scherbatsky," he retorted. "You got us into this mess, and you're going to be there when all of this goes down." She giggled at his lighthearted teasing, wondering not the first time why he didn't let more people see this side of him. This was the Barney she had seen that day at laser tag and later in her apartment the night they'd slept together. "No, seriously, it's only Ted that I'm worried about. Lily might actually be happy for us. She loves kids. Marshall will just be excited to have something to tease us with. I just don't know how Ted will take it."

"Let's not talk about that now," she decided with a heavy sigh. She felt herself loosen up a little bit when Barney's hands found their way to her back. He rubbed small circles over the outside of her top soothingly, lulling her into a relaxed state. It was only when his hands drifted below her waist and along the hemline of her flannel pants that her eyes flew back open. He was still Barney after all, and Barney never missed out on an attempt for some good groping. "Alright, hands where I can see them, Stinson!"

"I had to try," he pointed out with a laugh as she shoved him hard in the shoulder. Still, even with his obvious shot at a cheap thrill, she didn't pull away from him completely. "I told you that I would be back to myself by morning."

She raised an eyebrow and looked at him challengingly. "I don't think you are," she dared him. "I see right through your little act, Barney. You want to pretend that you haven't changed, but these weeks have made you different. I'm not sure if it was being in the accident or making up with Ted or finding out that you were going to be a father, but you're not the same egotistical, chauvinistic male whore that you were before you got went to the hospital. You, my friend, are a changed man."

They both knew that she was right but neither of them bothered to acknowledge it. He didn't need to confirm it to know that it was true. Barney had changed a lot since the accident. Somehow seeing his life flash before his eyes and finding that every image led back to Robin had done that to him. She was what he remembered and what he didn't want to forget. He had changed when he had woken up with her at his side. He had changed when he realized that meant more to him than Ted forgiving him. He had changed when she had agreed to take care of him as he recovered. He had changed when she had told him that they were having this baby. He had changed when he had woken up beside her again this morning. She had changed him.

"So I've been thinking," he said to change the subject. "I know that we don't know if the baby is a boy or a girl yet, but we should talk about names. And before you tell me, I realize that we have months to go, but you're a woman. Every little girl dreams about what she wants to name her son or daughter."

Robin shook her head. Growing up, she had never been that girl that played house. She hadn't dreamt of being a wife or a mother. She'd dreamt of standing on the stage and singing cheesy pop songs. She had dreamt of reading the news on TV. "That just wasn't me," she shrugged. "I never thought that I would have a kid, you know that. It was one of the reasons that Ted and I didn't work out. We didn't want the same things."

He'd almost forgotten how different Robin and Ted had been when it came to family. Ted had been ready to get married for as long as Barney had known him. He was born to be a father and a husband. Robin, on the other hand, had chosen to focus on her career. It was something she had in common with Barney. It was funny how unexpected news could suddenly make very priority focus. The things that once seemed so crucial didn't seem to matter as much anymore. "Come on, Robin, I know that you had to have thought about this at least once in your life," he prodded. "Even if you never thought it would happen, surely it was a fleeting thought somewhere in there."

"Okay, well, maybe," she admitted, a slight blush spreading over her cheeks. Of all the conversations she had expected to have with Barney, choosing a name for their unborn child was pretty low on the list. She still couldn't believe that he was actually asking her to talk about it. "When I was a kid, I loved hockey. I mean, I grew up in Vancouver. Hockey is like a religion there! And of course, being from there, I loved the Canucks. My favorite player was Patrik Sundström. He was this Swedish center that I thought was so cute. I always really liked his name."

"Hmm, Patrick," Barney considered. "Although the story is, well, a little too Canadian for this New Yorker to fully appreciate, I like the sound of the name. I'd be willing to accept Patrick if you'd negotiate with me on the girl's name."

"I don't really have any in mind, so I'm open for suggestions."

"I'd like to name her Jamie after my brother," he told her. Robin's eyes lit up at his suggestion, almost feeling like it was a confession. "Growing up, James was really the only person I could count on. It didn't matter what was going on, we went through it together. True story."

She couldn't help but giggle when he used one of his favorite catchphrases to lessen the sentimentality of the moment. "If it's a girl, we'll name her Jamie," Robin agreed willingly. She liked knowing that there was something outside the group of friends that meant so much to him. Their child would have more than just them but an entire extended family. "When do you want to tell your brother?"

"After Ted," he answered automatically. "He has to be the first to know. We can't lie to him again. More specifically, I can't keep it from him only for you to tell him the truth before I can."

"If I haven't said it enough, Barney, I'm sorry about that."

"Water under the bridge, Scherbatsky," Barney waved her off. Just like that, something small had shifted between them. It would have been imperceptible to most people, but Robin noticed the small way he pulled back for her. She felt the immediate recoil when he remembered that moment and her betrayal. "Can you help me get up? The physical therapist should be here soon."

Robin tried not to dwell on the vast distance that now lay between them as she pushed down the side rail on his bed and took his arm to help him move into his wheelchair. When she tried to push him toward the bathroom, he insisted that he wanted to do it by himself. Only when the door was shut did she allow the tears to come. She had thought that he had forgiven her for telling Ted the truth all those weeks ago, but what had just happened told her that he hadn't. She knew that he wasn't mad she had told Ted the truth. It was the fact that she had told him without talking to Barney first. She'd just felt so guilty that she hadn't thought about how it would affect the guys' friendship.

A few minutes later, a freshly changed Barney came back into the living room. Gone was the vulnerable smile that had comforted her minutes before. It had been replaced with that same mischievous glint that propelled him through numerous pursuits for a one-night stand at MacLaren's. She hated that look because it was a lie. It wasn't Barney. He was the man who had just lay with her in that bed and planned the names for their baby. Yet, as much as she hated that look, she hated herself more because she had put it on his face. "Barney, about what just happened…"

"I know, Robin," he said shortly. "I just need some time."

She nodded thoughtfully as she looked down at her hands. If he needed time to forgive her, she would give him that. She wanted to do that for him, for the baby, for all of them. "Well, I'll be here."


	5. Chapter 5

Lily had been at Robin's apartment for nearly two hours, and Barney had not said more than ten words to her since his physical therapist had left. He sat silently in his bed in front of the television, his eyes fixed on the flashy images of a random daytime soap opera. The only way she knew that she even knew that he was still conscious was the occasional grunt or scoff he would let escape past his tightly pursed lips while he watched the show. She had tried to engage him in conversation a couple times, but he had mostly ignored her. It was rare that Barney, a man who lived to be the center of attention, passed up the chance to talk. If nothing else, he loved to hear the sound of his own voice. However, all traces of that version of her friend were gone today. He seemed perfectly content to get lost in the vapid characters on the screen while she graded papers in the corner. Something was definitely up.

Just as she was about to ask him yet again if there was anything she could get him, Lily heard the television click off across the room. Her eyes flew to his bed to find Barney leaning back, his eyes closed and his face tilted toward the ceiling. Lily tucked the stack of papers back into the file folder and padded the short distance to his bed. "Barn, are you okay?" she asked cautiously. It was almost eerie to see him like this. When he didn't answer again, she gently reached her hand out and rested it on his shoulder. His blue eyes fluttered open and met hers. "What is wrong with you?"

"I slept with Robin," he shrugged simply before letting his eyes fall shut again. He tried to ignore the pounding in his head and wished that it was time for another pain pill. His medication made him tired, and if he was asleep, he didn't have to deal with the reality that his life had become. He didn't have to remember that he was stuck in this bed like an invalid or that he had fallen in love with someone who happened to be having his baby after a one-night stand. More than anything, he didn't have to admit the disaster that this could easily become.

His friend looked at him in confusion as she raked her slender fingers through her raven locks. A ray of sunshine caught her diamond ring and cast a glint across her face. "I know, Barney. We all know that already," she retorted. He knew that she didn't understand. It was impossible for anyone to comprehend the situation when they were missing the biggest part of the story. "I don't see why that would have you down like this now. It was weeks ago. You and Ted are better now. He's not mad at you. You can't let this haunt you anymore."

Exhaling a long sigh, he studied Lily for a moment, wondering what it was like to be half of such a perfect whole. He had never seen two people so in sync as she and Marshall. They were the couple that people wanted to model their relationships after. If he could have half of what they had with someone, he would consider himself a very lucky man. He had always wanted something like their relationship when he decided to settle down. He had just never accounted for the possibility that he could have something even more amazing and with Robin no less. Now that they were so close to the brink of something real, he was scared as hell. He couldn't forget how they had started or the fact that she had broken her only promise to him. Just as much as he had betrayed his best friend, he had been betrayed by her. It was a stupid thing to cling to, he knew, but he felt like it was all he had to put distance between them. Giving it to right now would make everything almost perfect. There were many things that Barney Stinson got out of life, but perfection had never been one of them. Through all the womanizing antics and boastful words, he was still the same self-conscious teenager that could never quite live up to the visage he put on for the world. It was a tiresome act, and he wanted more than anything to just let it fall away with Robin. However, once he let the curtain fall and the Great Oz was revealed for all its mundane and typical glory, there would be no going back. She would be left with only him.

"That's not what I meant," he confessed. He knew that he was walking a fine line here, but he needed to tell someone. He needed to talk it through to know that it would make sense to someone other than him. "It's not about Ted anymore. I hate what it did to our friendship, but he's not the reason that I'm like this. Lil, I know you're not going to believe me when I say this, but I never wanted to be just a one night thing. When I wasn't staying here, it was pretend that's all it was. But being here with her all the time in this tiny apartment, I can't ignore how I feel."

Her eyes went wide as she realized what Barney was saying. For the first time in the many years that she had known him, he was admitting that he had feelings for a woman. His words went far beyond the normal chauvinistic comments he had about a date's physical assets or sexual abilities. "You're in love with her," Lily realized aloud, her hand covering her mouth in disbelief. "Barney, I had no idea. I mean, you never even acted like you wanted anything beyond that night. You went back to your normal self. If you hadn't gotten into the fight with Ted, I would have almost forgotten that it even happened."

Shaking his head slightly, he couldn't believe how well he had played the part since that night with Robin. "I don't know if I would call it love, but she is definitely more than just a passing phase for me. I know how you guys see me, and sometimes, I really am that guy. It's just that being with Robin, maybe I don't want to be him anymore," he attempted to explain. He wanted so desperately for someone to understand him. "I've never felt this way about anyone. I don't know how to act or what to think or what to say. Every time I feel like I am letting myself get closer to her, I shut down completely. Some of it is justified, but mostly, I'm just scared."

If she wasn't sitting here listening to him have this conversation, Lily would have never believed that Barney was being this emotionally vulnerable or honest with anyone. He put up a great front with pretty much everyone except his friendship with Marshall and Ted. The only other person that she had ever seen bring out real feelings in him was his brother. "Have you told Robin any of this?"

Barney shrugged again, not entirely sure how to answer the question. "Kind of, not really," he admitted. "She knows certain things, but I haven't told her everything. You and I both know that I can't do that. I haven't even admitted everything to myself. Every time I even start to try, I mess it all up. I don't know how to do this. I've never wanted to do this."

"But you do now," she concluded for him. She remembered a time back in college when she was first falling in love with Marshall and she had a similar conversation with one of her friends. The cynic in her had never believed that she would find anyone at her same level, but he had captured her completely in such a short time. All of those old feelings of fierce independence had faded away as the dream of completely intertwined lives became her main focus. She had wanted a life with him. That was what Barney was saying to her now. "Barn, I know this is hard, but someone very smart once told me that anything easy wasn't worth having. Think about it. You've had all these flings that were easy for you to land and then forget about. It never mattered because it didn't go past that next morning when you would make up some lie and slink out of some random skank's apartment. With Robin, that's all gone. It did matter. It does matter. When you woke up next to her, you didn't run away like you usually would. You stayed. That speaks volumes in and of itself."

"I think you're onto something there, Lil," he smiled. In one of her short, signature monologues, the brunette had been able to put weeks of his own thoughts into perspective. "Living the single life all these years has been awesome. I won't deny that it's been fun at times. It's been legendary. I just don't know that it's enough anymore."

A streak of pride shone in her eyes as she looked down at him. "That is growth, my friend," she replied. She had never thought she would live to see the day when the player would get tired of playing the game. They had always thought that he would turn out to be a lifer. Like Robin, he had never wanted a family or a marriage. They had both wanted a successful career, great friends and the independence of living life on their own terms. Lily could only hope that her news anchor friend could find the same change in Barney that he had found in her. "You just can't give up when it gets hard."

He thought for a moment, searching for the right words to express the only thought on his mind. "Robin is worth having," he declared finally, his voice more confident than it had been in quite some time when he spoke of her. That same exhilarated assurance radiated through his body. It wasn't the baby that had scared him, it was loving her. Loving her hand changed everything, and every thing that had happened since then was only a ripple effect of that very big decision. "Thanks for listening to me, Lil, this really helped. Just can you do me a favor?"

"I won't tell Marshall or Ted," she promised. "And Robin won't know that we ever talked unless you want her to. This stays between just you and me."

Barney moved to hug Lily as Marshall came into the apartment with his arms filled with shopping bags from the market down the street. He lightly teased his friend for putting the moves on his wife as he discarded the sacks in the kitchen. Lily disappeared in the other room to put away the groceries while Marshall came in to talk to Barney. "How are you feeling, man?"

"Better than I have in a long time," he answered honestly. He hadn't felt this good since the night he had slept with Robin except for the moment he had realized that he actually wanted to be a father to their child. "Hey, what time is it?"

Marshall glanced down at his watch. "It's almost five."

Barney grinned excitedly as he retrieved the remote from beneath the tangle of sheets situated around him. He flipped on the television and switched it over to Robin's channel just as the opening theme to the evening broadcast came on. She was filling in for one of the other anchors all week while she was on vacation. He loved to watch her. It was something he had always done, even from the earliest days when he had first met her and she was busy falling in love with his best friend. As soon as her beautiful face filled his screen, he forgot that anything or anyone else existed. He certainly didn't bother to respond when Marshall tried to talk to him.

Feeling defeated and slightly hurt that he was being so blatantly ignored while Barney watched their friend do the same thing she did every night, Marshall excused himself unnecessarily and went into the kitchen to talk to Lily. "What is with Barney?"

"He's had a rough day," Lily told him as she put the cereal and crackers Barney had asked for away in his assigned cabinet. Robin had organized the kitchen so that there was a place everyone could find anything he needed. It was her small way of making room for him in her life. She hadn't given Ted as much as a drawer in all the time that they were together. Lily knew that it was a big step for her friend.

"Was physical therapy that hard?" Marshall asked. He had thought that Barney was recovering well. "I didn't know that he was still having problems. Robin acted like he was doing better."

"Maybe she doesn't know everything," she offered as she moved past her husband to put things into the fridge. Lily ignored Marshall's questioning look. She didn't particularly like keeping secrets from him, but she had made a promise to Barney. If she rushed things for him, he might never take a chance in telling Robin how he felt. Besides, she knew what Robin's betrayal had done to him. She couldn't be another person going against her word to him. "He'll be fine, I promise."

As she turned to look at her friend through the window that was open between the kitchen and the living room, Lily prayed that her assurance to Marshall would prove to be true. She watched as Barney stared at the television with the same captivation of the soap earlier. He was completely lost in Robin's inane story about some little old lady with a host of cats with strange talents in the Bronx. He laughed as Robin made one of her unfunny puns, causing Lily to smile. She couldn't help but think that neither Robin nor Barney had any idea what was coming.


	6. Chapter 6

All the lights in the small, cozy apartment were off by the time that Robin crawled in some time after midnight. Layers of cake makeup and aerosol hairspray remained behind from the late night broadcast, the only signs that indicated she was something more than a lady of the night. Robin tossed her keys in the small bowl just inside her front door and felt around in the dark as she worked her way toward the hallway. She stopped short when her shin it against the metal railing of Barney's hospital bed with a soft thud. Muttering curse words under her breath, she tried to maneuver around the bed when a hand reached out and stopped her.

Robin jumped nervously at the sudden touch but didn't say anything. She needed for him to speak first, to forgive her for their argument earlier or to scream at her out of continued anger. Instead, Barney was still quiet as he pulled her closer to him. His mouth found hers in the dark, his tongue running across her bottom lip in eager anticipation. She was almost afraid to touch him. The sparks between them had always been so strong, and now, in the darkness of her apartment, she knew that it had the potential to burn her alive. His fingers brushed over her jaw before working their way into her long, chocolate strands. Barney pressed his tongue against her mouth, imploring for entrance until she finally relented.

Apart of her knew that she should be asking a million questions, especially what the hell was going on. She wanted to know what this meant, why he had finally decided to act now, what was even going on between them. However, as he continued to work her over with another kiss, she couldn't find the voice to ask anything. The only thing she could focus on was the breathless way he panted as she pressed him back against the pillows and the pattern he was tracing on her bare back beneath her knit sweater and the soft scent of toothpaste on his lips.

Finally, Barney broke away from her and shifted out of her arms. His eyes avoided hers as he straightened up and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," he whispered, the words getting lost in the vast darkness that lay between them. Robin buried her face in her hands, glad that he couldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes. "I just wanted to be the guy that I used to be just for a minute. I thought that if I could kiss you and have it mean nothing like it did with all the other women, maybe this wouldn't seem so insurmountable."

Reaching across his body, Robin flipped on the bedside lamp and waited for the warm amber glow to fill the small room. Barney was huddled on the other side of the bed as far away from her as possible. "Barney, come on, what is going on with you?" she pleaded. She had been thinking about their conversation all day, and she still wasn't any closer to knowing what she could do to repair things between them. "One minute you are telling me that you aren't this guy and the next minutes, you're trying to prove to me that you still are. You don't want to be that guy anymore."

"I watched you tonight, you know," he said softly before reaching over to turn off the lamp again. It had always been easier for him to tell the truth in the dark. She wouldn't be able to see the sadness in his wavering gaze in the comforting black of the midnight hour. "It's not any different from any other night. I watch you every night. Even when I was scamming on some random chick down at the bar, I would convince one of the waitresses to turn the channel so that I could see the news at eleven. I never really thought about it much until tonight. Why do I do that?"

Feeling surprised and taken aback, Robin knew that she didn't have an answer for Barney. She barely understood how she felt about him, let alone how he felt about her. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "Barney, I don't want you to be that guy. He was great as a friend, but this guy that you are turning into, he's even better as a father. We're both going through a lot, and it scares me, too. You just can't revert back to your old ways now. I need you too much."

Barney reached out for her hand and entwined it with his. "Robin, I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier. I shouldn't have shut down on you like that. Lily and I were talking about us earlier, you and me. She has a lot of insight into our relationship. She told me that I'm scared of you because you're different. You are the only person who has made me want to stay in a very long time."

Robin smiled at his admission. She had been a free spirit for a long time until she had met Ted and the rest of the gang here in New York. They had made her want to stay in one place and try to form some kind of makeshift family for herself away from the comforts of Vancouver. Whenever she missed her mother or her friends back home, she could have a shopping spree with Lily or a three-hour conversation with Barney at the bar. "Barn, come on, you know that you changed me, too," she pointed out. She moved her way up the mattress so that she was sitting next to him, the darkness still blanketing the truth of their smiles. "You know that the last thing I ever wanted was a family, but since I found out about this baby, I've found myself dreaming about all the things that I want for our child. I've been thinking about what it's going to be like having this whole new life that is half you and half me. Every single thought that I have includes you. I want us to be a family. I want to have all of this with you."

"You know that should scare me," he chuckled humorlessly as she leaned her head against his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the top of their forehead, pausing to ask himself not for the first time exactly what they were doing there. "I'll tell you what, Scherbatsky, if I had known that sleeping with you would…"

Robin elbowed him sharply in the ribs. "Are you really sure that you want to finish that statement?" she asked pointedly, her voice teasing and light. "You know what, I don't care what you want. Finish it."

"If I had known that night would lead us to here, I would have ended up kissing you on that couch every single night," he pledged. "I regret a lot of the girls I have slept with. I mean, there have been some serious uggos over the years. There were the crazies, the marrieds, the ones that I'm still not entirely sure were completely women yet. Other than the girl I mistakenly and prematurely fell in love with in college, I never let myself feel much of anything for any of them. You were the exception, though."

"I spent an entire year being completely in love with Ted. He would have given me the entire world if I had wanted it. Any sane girl would have wanted the life that I could have led with him. He's a great guy," she mused. "Instead, I slept with his best friend, fell for the womanizer and am going to have his baby. It shouldn't be what I want, but somehow having this family with you is all that I want now."

Barney didn't even realize that he was holding his breath until he felt the sudden need to exhale. He was breathless as the words sunk into his head. She had said the thing that he had needed to hear this morning. When he had needed her to show him that she was completely on his side, that she would never put Ted before him and that their relationship – if you could call it that – would come first now, this is what he had been waiting for. "You're falling for me?"

She blushed at the suggestive way he posed his question. "Come on, you knew that."

"I thought maybe there was a chance but you never said those words exactly…"

"Well, I said them," she shrugged. "Wait, why, how do you feel about me?"

It was Barney's turn to shrug. "You're alright, I guess," he said nonchalantly. He winced again as Robin shoved her elbow into his ribs. "Ow, stop, I just got out of the hospital." Barney ignored Robin's amused snort and opted to tell her the truth. "Robin, I wouldn't have come back here if I didn't want to be near you. We both know that I could have hired a nurse or stayed with someone else. I could have worked something out, but I wouldn't when I knew that you were really the only alternative I wanted."

"You know that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."

Reaching over, he turned on the lamp and smiled at her. "Say that again?"

A wide grin spread across her pert lips as she gazed at him. "You know that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me," she repeated. Barney's eyes lit up as he watched her. "What? Why are you staring at me?"

"Just had to see what you looked like when you said that," he explained. He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before brushing a kiss over her lips softly. "You know that you changed me."

Resting her hands over her still-flat abdomen, she shook her head. "She did it."

"Or he," he corrected her. "It could be a boy."

"Maybe it'll be one of both," she pondered before shaking her head vehemently. "No way, the world couldn't handle two of them. I'm not even sure it can take one."

Barney yawned as he leaned back against the pillows and closed his eyes. "All of this sharing and telling the truth about my feelings takes a lot out of me," he complained good-naturedly. He felt Robin lean back against him and turn slightly on her side so that she was snuggled up against him. "We'll tell Ted tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay," she confirmed again. "I'm ready to celebrate this good news. Our friends need to know."

"And your family," he pointed out. "When are you going to tell them?"

In all the chaos of having to consider her friends and how they would react, Robin hadn't really taken too much time to think about how she would tell her parents. Her mom and dad were still so traditional, and she knew that they wouldn't approve of the fact that she wasn't married. They would have a lot to say about how her career had been a priority over pretty much everything and how she hadn't had anything definitively permanent since her stupid pop career fell apart. "My sister will be excited, my mom might too," she decided. "My dad is going to hate you. You knocked me up and haven't made an honest woman of me."

"Whoa, wait," he muttered, panic flying into his eyes. "We haven't…"

"I'm kidding, Stinson," she assured him with a mischievous giggle. "I mean, my dad will say that, but it's okay. I know how to handle him. Once he gets over the initial shock, the two of you will get along."

"So, really, the only hurdle we have is…"

"Telling Ted," she concluded. "We can do this."

"We have to."

"Yeah," she said sadly as he rested her head on his shoulder. She knew that this was the defining moment, the one that had the potential to change everything that their little group knew and held dear. "We have to."


	7. Chapter 7

Ted Mosby tried aimlessly to balance the bag of clothes he had picked up from Barney's apartment in one hand and a large pizza from the place down the street from Robin's, all the while trying to push the button in the elevator. It had been a long day of planning the wedding with Stella, and he was looking forward to having a slice and a cold one with two of his best friends. Lily and Marshall would be by later, marking the first time the entire gang had been together since the night of Barney's homecoming. He had missed hanging out as a collective group these past few months, and now that each and every friendship was in tact, he was glad that they could all be together without it being weird or awkward.

"Hey, Ted," Robin greeted him as she swung the door open to her apartment. Ted knew immediately that something was going on. She had the scared look in her eyes she always got right before she had to deliver bad news. It was the same look she had given him when she had confessed about the night she had spent with Barney. Ted tried to shake it off, knowing that his friends had learned from the last time. There was nothing going on. There couldn't be, especially not after Barney had worked so hard to get their friendship back on track. However, as Robin took the pizza from him, he had a sinking feeling that he just couldn't ignore. "Barney's in the living room. I'm just going to go plate the pizza. Why don't you head in there and I'll bring our beers in a second?"

Raking his fingers through his hair, Ted tried to ignore the anxiety coursing through

His veins as he came into the living room. Barney looked not at all like himself in the faded jeans and tattered hoodie. He was usually so particular about his appearance that it was almost unsettling to see him looking like a collegiate version of Barney. Ted sat the shopping bag down by the foot of the hospital bed and came around to sit in the armchair pulled close to the railing. "Robin asked me to swing by and pick up some stuff from your apartment. I wasn't sure what all you wanted."

Barney shrugged nonchalantly as he flipped off the television. "It's not like I really get to go anywhere or see anyone. Other than you guys and my physical therapist, I haven't seen another soul since I left the hospital," he said. "Although, I have to admit that I am really starting to miss my suits. It's funny how casual clothes feel so uncomfortable after living in suits for so long."

"Before you know it, you're going to be shopping at Target in your sweatpants like the rest of us slobs," Ted teased his friend. "I can see it now. You might even take up wearing wife beaters in public if you keep this up."

"Bite your tongue, Ted Mosby," Barney retorted with a wide grin. It felt nice to be here with his friend, ribbing on each other like they had for years. He knew that it was a fleeting feeling and that as soon as they told the truth, he would be right back where he was before the accident. Well, maybe not right back there; he wasn't alone this time. He lifted his blue eyes to the doorway of the kitchen where a nervous Robin was standing with a bottle of beer and two tall glasses of water in her hand. "Come on, Scherbatsky, Daddy's thirsty."

Robin threw him a dirty look as he handed Ted one of the chilled bottles of better before taking a long drink of water herself. It hardly seemed fair that Ted got the comforts of alcohol while they had to do this completely sober. "Take the little blue pill and two of the round white ones," she ordered when Barney took the glass from her. He nodded obediently like a child as she held out the pills. Once she was fully satisfied that he taken his meds as directed, she patted him affectionately on the head before sprawling out on the bed beside. "Good boy, Stinson. I didn't even have to grind them up and hide them in your food this time."

"I think you're only doing that so that you can lick the spoon afterwards in hopes of getting a little hit of my pains medication," he teased her back. She slapped him playfully on the leg as she rolled over. Barney grabbed for her hand automatically and held it tightly. She leered at him, trying her best to be menacing. Ted noticed the ease of their joking interaction. It felt strange to see Robin like this with anyone else, let alone one of their best friends. "So, Ted, how are things going with the wedding?"

After Barney's initial protests, Ted was surprised how well his friend had taken the engagement to Stella. Barney had went on for weeks after Lily and Marshall finally decided to tie the knot, waxing poetic about the loss of singledom and the promise of every first time. Yet, when Ted had announced his engagement, it felt like all of Barney's arguments against marriage were half-hearted at best. "Stella has plans for everything. She really knows what she wants. I'm just along for the ride. As long as she is happy, I'll do pretty much anything to make it happen."

Barney glanced at Robin to gauge her reaction. Though they hadn't spoken at length about the engagement, he knew that it had to be at least a little hard to know that one of your ex-boyfriends was about to get married. However, as he looked at her, he saw that she was genuinely happy for Ted. There was no resentment or regret shining in her eyes. "That's awesome, dude, congratulations," Barney grinned. "I still say better you than me, but I'm glad that you're happy with Stella."

"Yeah, Ted, she seems like a really great woman," Robin offered. "You should bring her over here so that we can all hang out together. I'd usually tell you to bring her to MacLaren's, but it's not like we can make it there."

Ted tried not to notice the easy way Robin said "we" when referring to her and Barney. It wasn't that long ago when he had been the other half of that "we." Now, Stella was the other half of his whole. "Yeah, I'm sure she'd like that," he obliged before standing up. "I am going to go call her real quick. I promised that I'd say goodnight before it got too late."

Once he had slipped out into the hallway for privacy, Robin nearly pounced on Barney. She reached for his hand looked up into his blue eyes, seeking the comfort that she so desperately needed. She was at her wit's end, trying to find the right time and way to say what they needed to say to Ted. How could she tell him that she was carrying his best friend's baby? "When do you want to do this?"

"Hey, you're shaking," Barney murmured as he brought her up to him. He reached out and rubbed his hands over her bare arms in a vain attempt to warm her up. He knew that her shivers were ones of fear and not of being cold. "Robin, it's going to be fine. The worst thing he can do is be angry. If he is, we'll find a way to deal with it. You need to calm down. It can't possibly be good for the baby for you to get this upset."

While her first reaction was still to snap at Barney and remind him that she knew what was best for her, she took a deep breath and nodded her head obediently. He was just trying to watch out for her and the baby. He wasn't trying to control her. "You're right," she concurred before pressing her forehead against his. Barney leaned forward impulsively and kissed the tip of her nose. "I just wish that this was already over."

"Wish what was over?" Ted asked from the doorway. His dark eyes were wide with curiosity and confusion. He walked timidly into the room with his cell phone still clutched tightly in his fists. He didn't want to presume that he had walked in on anything even though he was fairly sure that he had. "What is going on?" Neither of them said anything, which only deepened his anxiety. "Barney? Robin? What's up?"

Robin slid away from Barney but never let go of his hand. He squeezed it supportively before looking up at his best friend with a slightly guilty smile. "Ted, you better sit down," he told his friend. "Robin and I have something to tell you."

"Oh, Barney, you could not have possibly slept with Robin again, could you?" Ted exclaimed exasperatedly. "You just got out of the hospital for goodness sake. I am pretty sure that the doctors said something about not engaging in strenuous activity for like six weeks…"

"Barney and I haven't had sex again," Robin assured him. She chose her words carefully. She had almost said that they hadn't slept together again, but that would have been a lie. They had technically slept together in the same bed twice now since he had been staying at her apartment. "This is actually about the last time that we slept together. There's something that you need to know, Ted."

"Listen, guys, I forgave you both for what happened. Looking back, I'm not entirely sure that I even had the right to be mad. I mean, I was already with Stella. I guess that there were just some residual feelings there that I hadn't dealt with completely. I've gotten past everything now. You don't need to keep apologizing for what happened."

Barney exchanged a weary glance with Robin. Ted was making it harder than it already was. "Actually, that's not what we were talking about either," Barney confessed. "There's really no easy way to say this so I'm just going to come out with it. Robin is pregnant. We're having a baby."

Ted started to laugh uncontrollably as soon as the words had escaped from Barney's lips. He could barely breathe as he giggled hysterically, doubled over and clutching his stomach. Robin was very quiet as she watched him react to what he thought was a joke. Barney only rolled his eyes and prayed for it to be over. Finally, Robin cleared her throat and looked pointedly at her ex-boyfriend. "Barney is serious. I'm due in seven months."

The apartment suddenly became very still. Robin could hear the distant sound of the elevator chirping out in the hallway and Barney's steady breath next to her. Ted looked at her blankly as if he couldn't comprehend what she had just said. "You have to be kidding."

Robin held up her glass of water and shook her head. "How often have you seen me pass up a beer on pizza night?" she asked him. She was notorious for her love of Canadian beer and top shelf scotch. "This is really happening."

"Weren't you safe?" Ted asked, each word dripping with distain. "You were always on me about being careful because you didn't' want to get pregnant. You didn't want kids. I spent over a year completely in love with you, wanting to have a future with you. You said you didn't envision a family, but you're going to have one with him?"

"It's not like we planned this, Ted," Barney shot back. He wouldn't listen to Ted sit there and question Robin's motives, no matter how angry his friend was. "Neither Robin nor I ever really wanted to have a family, but we are going to have one. Not that it's your business, but yes, we were careful. Condoms fail sometimes or maybe I'm just really potent. Either way, it happened."

Ted started to pace the length of the small living room. His face was red as he stomped back and forth on the carpeted floor. His first instinct was to run away. As betrayed as he had felt after Robin had slept with Barney, it couldn't even begin to compare to finding out that she was willing to have the life he had dreamt about for them just not with him. She wanted it with Barney. That's why they had invited him here tonight. Finally, he stopped pacing and turned to look straight into the bright blue eyes of his supposed best friend. "I cannot believe you would do this to me."

"To you? Are you kidding me?" Robin shrieked. "Ted, in case you haven't figured it out, this is happening to me. I'm the one who is pregnant. Barney is the father. The situation actually has very little to do with you. We just thought that we owed it to you to tell you before anyone else."

"Robin, come on, you need to calm down a little bit. Remember what we talked about earlier?" Barney murmured softly to her as he rested his hand on the small of her back. He felt her body relax slightly under his touch. She turned to him and shook her head with a tired defeat he'd never seen in her before. "Ted, I'm not going to apologize to you for this. The fact is that we didn't do anything wrong. We didn't do anything wrong when we slept together, and we're not doing anything wrong wanting to do right by our baby. I hate that this is hurting you, but the two of you have been over for months. You've moved on. You're engaged to another woman. You do not get to be angry about this."

Ted glared at the two of them. He hated how Barney was quietly supporting Robin with the discreet placement of his hand on her back. He hated how Robin had instinctively moved closer to Barney since they had started fighting. He hated how her hands rested protectively over her abdomen, as if she was trying to shield her baby from him. He hated how the two of them looked more in sync than he had ever felt with Robin. "Well, congratulations then, Barney!" he cheered sarcastically. "I hope that your little family is happy as can be."

"What family?" Ted, Barney and Robin all turned at the same time to find a confused Lily and Marshall standing just inside the front door of the apartment. Lily was looking quickly between the three adults as she clutched the white cake box in her arms. Marshall was looking at Barney and Ted expectantly, waiting for an answer to his question. "Guys, what family?"

Robin opened and closed her mouth a couple times, trying to find the words to answer his question. Barney only buried his face in his hands. It was Ted that answered the question. "Robin is having his baby," he muttered as he slid past Lily and Marshall out of the apartment. His statement was left hanging in the air, answered only by the lonely slamming of the front door.


	8. Chapter 8

Ted hadn't more than made his hasty announcement before Robin fled the room in tears, leaving a stunned trio in her wake. Lily was still standing by the front door, looking between the empty hallway where Ted had just stomped out and the newly slammed bedroom door where Robin was hiding. Her eyes were wide with confusion and fear. She and Marshall had been put in the middle of the fight the last time things had exploded between the three friends, and she knew that there was a good chance that they could find themselves right back there. It had been hard on their relationship the last time, when she was forced to choose Robin's side as her best friend and Marshall naturally sided with Ted. However, as monumental as the struggle between Ted and Barney had been last time, something in her bones told her that this time was even more epic.

Reaching for his wife's hand hesitantly, Marshal led Lily into the living room and sat down on the loveseat arranged opposite Barney's bed. They both watched the blonde carefully as he raked his fingers through his hair anxiously. He was known for being calm and collected for the most part, never letting anyone see a moment of weakness. However, the man that sat in front of them was completely vulnerable, and that was enough to leave Marshall feeling quite unsettled. He glanced sideways over at Lily. She had her free hand pressed to her mouth. She seemed just as spooked as he was. Finally, knowing that someone was going to have to say something some time, Marshall opened his mouth to speak. "Barney, what did we just walk in on?"

Barney lifted his eyes slowly to meet Marshall's. The two of them had become close friends out of circumstance. If it hadn't been for their mutual friendships with Ted, their paths would have likely never crossed. However, in the years that he had known Marshall, Barney had come to think of him as a brother just as much as he had Ted. He had been there for him many times when he had needed to enact the Bro Code. He'd played wingman on several occasions and had even been there the day that Barney got the worst news of his life. He had been a good friend, but he knew that this could destroy the careful balance Marshall had been able to create when it came to Barney and Ted.

"Robin's pregnant," he answered finally. His eyes moved over to Lily, whose jaw had dropped visibly. He managed to smile at the raven-haired beauty briefly to let her know that he was happy about it. Her eyes lit up with realization as she caught onto the insinuation. She had always been privy to more of Barney's emotional vulnerability than anyone else in the group, and he knew that she had long suspected that his feelings for Robin went far beyond the one-night stand. "Obviously, the baby is mine. We just told Ted, and that's what you guys walked in on."

Lily let go of Marshall's hand and crawled up on the bed beside Barney to wrap her arms around him. He turned instinctively to return the hug, happy that at least one of the friends would be happy for them. "Congratulations, Barn," she retorted softly as she pulled back. Her wide eyes met his. "This is good, right? You seem happy about it."

"We are very happy about it. I'm excited," he concurred before looking over her shoulder toward Robin's room. "Listen, Lil, I can't really go check on Robin on my own. Do you think that you could go in and see her? I don't know if she'll want to talk to anyone…"

"I'm on it!" she exclaimed willingly before scampering off the bed. She reached for Marshall's hand on the way by and squeezed it. He looked up at his wife for a long moment. He saw the urgency in her gaze. She didn't want another feud between the close group of five. She wanted only peace in what should be a very happy time for Robin and Barney. "I'll be right back."

Marshall nodded as Lily opened the bedroom door. Robin's cries were heard only briefly before Lily pulled the door shut again. Barney covered his face to hide the agony that he felt. He hated what this was doing to Robin. It didn't matter how he felt, but to know that she was in that much pain over everything killed him. He wasn't even that concerned about Ted. He got to choose how he dealt with the situation, and there was nothing Barney could do about it. Robin, on the other hand, was the woman that he loved, and when she was in pain, he was in pain. He wanted to go to her and envelope her in his arms until her tears subsided. For the first time since waking up for the accident, he regretted running after Ted. If he hadn't chased him, he wouldn't have ended up here, unable to comfort her.

"Alright, Marshall, let's get this over with. You go ahead and let me have it or whatever you feel like you need to do as Ted's best friend," Barney commented tiredly. He felt emotionally drained from everything that had happened in the matter of less than an hour. "It's okay; I understand that you have to defend him."

Marshall smiled slightly as he came over to Barney's bedside and took the chair Ted had occupied prior to his impromptu departure. "I'm not angry at you, Barney. It's not like you planned this," he sympathized. He knew firsthand how rash Ted could be. When he was hurt, it was impossible for the man to see any sort of real logic in a situation. He could be selfish and close-minded. "I just can't take sides. Robin is going to need Lily. I have to be there for Ted."

"It's okay, really. I'll have my brother and Lily to talk to when Robin is driving me crazy," Barney smiled. "I will say, though, that I don't think Ted really has the right to be angry. We both know how he doesn't think past himself when this kind of thing happens. I have apologized and apologized for hurting him. I wish that it hadn't hurt him like it did. However, I won't keep apologizing to him for what we did because it wasn't wrong. They have been broken up for months. He is engaged to someone else. Robin is free to sleep with whoever she wants."

"Come on, Barney, you know that's not why he is mad," Marshall grimaced. Barney was right. Ted really had no right to be angry, but they both knew exactly why he was. "You're going to get the life with Robin that he wanted."

"We're just having a baby," Barney argued. "It's not like we've had this storybook romance! I knocked Robin up after a one-night stand. We're not married, she's not in love with me. We're only even listening together because I'm an invalid who can't take care of myself. What is there to be jealous about? This isn't the life that Ted wanted with her. He wanted the fairytale."

Rubbing his hands over his face, Marshall tried to collect his thoughts. How could he make Barney see what was right in front of him? "Dude, I have seen the way you look at her. We all have. It's not just a one-night stand with the two of you," he countered. "There has been something brewing between the two of you for awhile, and it all came to a head the night you slept together. Now that it is weeks later and there is a definite connection between you, Ted knows that it's too late. You'll be forever tied together, and he won't get his chance."

"He shouldn't want a chance with Robin again if he asked Stella to marry him," Barney retorted hotly. The entire argument was ludicrous. "It shouldn't matter how I feel about Robin. Yeah, it's something more than a one-night stand. She is one of my best friends and one of the few women that didn't make me want to go running in the opposite direction the morning I woke up with her beside me. I care about her, and I care about this baby. I'm not going risk losing my chance at a family just because Ted's not happy."

"And you shouldn't!" Marshall agreed. "I'm not saying Ted is right at all. I'm just saying that in his mind, everything he is doing is justified. All he can see or feel is how hurt he is by all of this. He knows that the two of you are going to be a family, whether you want to say it or not to me. I know that you know it, too. You care about her."

"I more than care about her," Barney replied, his voice softer than before. "Marshall, I'm in love with her."

Meanwhile, in the quiet confines of her bedroom, Robin was curled up in a ball on the middle of her bed sobbing. Lily was at her side, quietly rubbing soothing circles on her back and murmuring reassurances in a vain attempt to calm her down. Though she had known it wasn't going to well, she hadn't thought that it was going to go that bad. She didn't really care how upset she felt. It just killed her to know that Barney could possibly be losing his best friend over a mistake that they made together. It wasn't fair to anyone that the night was coming back to haunt them all over again. Barney was the man that she loved, and when he was hurting, she was hurting. She wished that she could go back in the living room and hold him, but she didn't want him to see her like this.

Finally, Robin slowed her tears enough to form a few coherent sentences. "Okay, Lily, I know that you have to have a million questions. I don't want to put you in the middle of anything, so you don't need to feel like you have to be there for me," she told her best friend. She was tired and worn out. "You and Marshall shouldn't have to suffer because of the drama between the three of us."

Lily reached down and stroked Robin's dark hair affectionately. She had never seen the usually strong woman seem so broken. "Robin, I would never feel obligated to support you. It's not like you set out to hurt Ted," she reminded her. She knew how hard it could be to be on the receiving end of Ted's anger. Forgiveness wasn't an easy thing for him. "No matter what happens, I'm going to be by your side. Marshall will be there for Ted. You just need to focus on this baby."

"Lil, I'd be fine if you couldn't, I promise. Barney has been really great about this so far," Robin grinned through the tears. "I have to admit that I thought he would be a nightmare, but he wants to have this baby. We both know that he can be an amazing guy when he wants to be. This must be killing him. He has told Ted how sorry he was too many times to count. He kept telling me that Ted could choose how he dealt with it, but I know that it still hurts him. I just don't get why he keeps punishing us for this. He has Stella. We're supposed to be free to be with whoever we want."

"Robin, we both know that's not why Ted stormed out of here. I agree that he shouldn't get upset like this, but he can't help how he feels," Lily commiserated. "He thought of you as the great love of his life for awhile. Now, one of his best friends gets to have the life with you that he dreamt about."

"We're having a child together, not a life," Robin shrugged. "It's not like we exactly planned of this. I didn't meet him and instantly fall in love. We were both sad, and we sought comfort in each other. It wasn't supposed to go beyond that one night. Barney isn't in love with me. He's my friend, and he cares about me. There isn't anything to envy with us. We don't have what Ted wanted for us when we were together. We just have an impossible situation."

Cocking her head to the side, Lily looked at her friend directly in the eyes, and Robin knew that she saw through the lies. Her visage had worn very thin very quickly. "Sweetie, I see the way you look at Barney. He's not just some guy that you slept with," she called her out. "You care about him, that's allowed. Sex brings out all these emotions that we try to hide. Sometimes they fade, sometimes they don't. They haven't faded between you two, and Ted sees that. He knows that whatever was between you and him is gone because your heart and your head are elsewhere."

"What we had was gone a long time ago, and that shouldn't matter to him if he is really committed to spending the rest of his life with Stella," Robin sighed deeply. It just didn't make sense to her. "It shouldn't matter how I feel about Barney. Okay, fine, so there's more to this than just a random hook-up. We're good friends, and I feel like I can really be myself when I'm with him. He means a lot to me, and I'm glad he wants to be a father to our baby. I'm not going to let anything ruin what future the three of us have because Ted doesn't like where life has led us."

"Good for you!" Lily applauded. "Look, I know that Ted is totally wrong. I'm just trying to get you to see it from his point of view. He feels betrayed all over again, whether it's logical or not. Wasn't it hard for you to think of him having a family with Stella and her daughter? Well, however hard that is, imagine what it would be like to see him trying to do that with me. You're going to have a family with Barney. That's huge. You have to see that. I know you care about him."

"I more than care about him," Robin confessed, her eyes shining brighter than before. "Lily, I'm in love with him."


	9. Chapter 9

Long after Ted had slammed the door on his friendship with Barney, long after Lily and Marshall had returned to their slanted apartment wondering what was going to become of their little group, long after Barney had taken a few leftover pain pills in hopes that he would be able to sleep, Robin was still crawled up in the middle of her bed. The tears had stopped coming hours ago, and the silence in the dark room was only sporadically interrupted by a stifled dry heave that managed to escape from her parched throat. Barney had tried knocking at her door for at least fifteen minutes after Lily and Marshall had left, but she had refused to see him. Eventually, he had grown tired of sitting vigil at her door and wheeled himself back to bed.

Robin hadn't left the locked bedroom since Ted had left the apartment, but her growling stomach was finally showing signs of protestation. She hadn't eaten in hours and was beyond thirsty. She peaked her head out of the door, relieved to find Barney's eyes closed. Only a dim glow in the kitchen shone in the entire apartment, casting a narrow slice of light across the bare hardwood floor. She padded by the bed and let herself into the kitchen, only breathing when she was sure that the door was shut firmly behind her. Sliding the open window between the kitchen and living room closed, she pulled out leftover Chinese food from the fridge and propped herself up on the counter to eat it straight from the carton.

She stretched her long legs across the counter as she tucked into the cold sweet and sour chicken. It was the remnants of last night's meal, a surprise Barney had concocted for her when she got home from reading the nightly news. They had stayed up late watching old gangster films and noshing on the sodium-enriched food. It had been nice to be normal with him like every other couple in the world. Just for a few minutes, she had managed to forget that they weren't a couple and that nothing between them was ordinary. That distorted sense of reality had come crashing down around her only a few hours before.

"Is there any of that fried rice left?" Robin's legs fell to the ground with a surprised thud as she looked up to the doorway. She hadn't heard Barney wheel himself into the little kitchen. His blue eyes shone with anxious caution as he timidly considered whether or not to come into the cozy room. "I heard you in here and thought I'd see if I could wrangle up something to eat. I would have done it myself, but it's kind of hard to reach the fridge and the microwave."

Robin nodded thoughtfully as she jumped down from the counter and crossed the room to get another carton of food from the fridge. "There is a little of that fried rice and some orange chicken. Do you want some of both?" she asked without looking at him. She didn't even wait for him to answer as she dished out scoops of both onto a bright blue plate and slid it into the microwave. "Do you want to take it here? I could bring it to you in the living room if you would be more comfortable."

"I'd like to eat in here with you, if that's okay," he answered. The truth was that he needed to be near Robin right now. Everything that had happened today left him questioning every decision he had made, and it was only in her presence that he could b sure that they were doing the right thing. "Marshall told me to tell you goodbye."

"I will have to call them later and apologize. I just wasn't ready to come out of my room earlier," she explained as she pulled the piping hot plate from the microwave. She sat it on the low counter where Barney could reach it and handed him silverware. Then, without asking what he wanted, she poured him a glass of iced water before taking her seat back on the counter across from him. "They're not the only ones I have to apologize to. Barn, I'm really sorry for the way I reacted earlier. I don't just mean the tears. I shouldn't have shut you out like that."

"It's okay, Robin," he assured her seriously. Every inclination in his body was telling him to just play it all off as a joke, but he didn't want to treat this situation lightly. More than anything in his life before, this actually mattered. "You get to react however you need to react. This isn't just hard on me. I know that you care about Ted and value his friendship. I just don't want you to cry because of me. It sucks that Ted took this so hard, but I'm more worried about you and this baby being okay than him. You are what matters to me right now."

She was touched by his heartfelt sentiment not only because it was sweet but also because she could tell that he really meant it. "I need to tell you something, Barney," she said softly. She couldn't look at him because she knew if she would, there was a good chance that she would lose all courage. "You should have been the first person that I told but I couldn't."

Barney dropped his fork on his plate and wheeled his chair over closer to Robin. He knew whatever was weighting on her mind was really important. He took the carton she was clutching in her hands and sat it on the counter. Then, taking her hands in his, he stared straight into her eyes. "You can tell me anything."

"I know that I can," she retorted instantly, knowing that it was true. She slid off the counter and pushed the wheelchair to the sofa in the next room. Barney moved himself effortlessly onto the couch and positioned himself comfortably. Robin sat beside him, somewhat rigid at first, until Barney pulled her body to his. He wove his arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her hair. He needed for her to know that whatever she had to say, he was still going to be there. "Okay, I'm not really where to start, so I'm just going to jump into it somewhere in the middle. From the minute I told you I was pregnant, I kept telling you that you could be as involved with this baby as you wanted. I guess I meant it on some level, but the biggest part of me wanted you to be a father to our child."

Stroking her hair lightly, he gave her a moment to continue before responding. When she didn't, he titled her chin so that her eyes met his. "You just wanted what all good mothers want for their children, Robin," he murmured softly. "It's okay to want me to be responsible for our baby. I just don't want you to think that I see this as an obligation that I'm required to fulfill. Maybe I didn't know it before now, but I want to be a father. I want us to be a family."

Her eyes softened as she leaned her forehead against his. "You do?" she asked, tears already welling in her eyes. Robin had never been much of a crier, but thankfully she had pregnancy to blame this rollercoaster of emotions on. "Do you really want us to be a family, Barn? I mean, you're not just saying that because you know that's what I want to hear, are you? You don't have to do that. I would be okay with us just being parents."

"God, Robin, don't you know?" he asked, his voice thick with weary frustration. She looked him with confusion. It was clear that she didn't know. "Even if you weren't pregnant with this baby, I would still want us to be a family. I'm not good at saying these things, but there has been so much I have wanted to tell you since the morning we woke up together. You were so insistent that it was just a one-time thing, but that was never what I wanted. I knew even before I kissed you that you're not the type of girl that you sleep with one night and blow off the next day. You're the kind of girl that guys propose to on the first date. It scares the hell out of me all the things that you make me feel."

It was perhaps the single longest monologue Robin had ever hear from Barney that did not include the words awesome or legendary. It was also the most honest and open thing she had ever heard him say. "I'm scared of you too," she whispered, her fingers reaching up to from his face. He closed his blue eyes for a moment, scared to let her see how much he was feeling. "I didn't want to end things with you after that night but I knew how much I could lose if it didn't work. I didn't want to let myself feel the things I was feeling because I never thought you would return them."

"How could you not know that I am completely in love with you?"

The question hung in the air for a moment before being answered by her lips on his. Barney barely had time to react before she deepened the kiss, her fingers twisting in his short blonde locks. His eyes fell heavily shut as his hands slid around her waist and she turned her body instinctively into his. He could taste the saltiness of the tears she had finally let fall. When she felt she had fully satisfied his question with her kiss of an answer, she pulled away and smiled at him coyly. "I love you, Barney. That's what I was trying to tell you."

"So, wait, you have loved me this entire time while we have been living here together?" he asked with a slight chuckle. "I could have been getting some the entire time instead of laying here in this bed dreaming about it."

Robin elbowed him sharply before erupting into a fit of giggles. "You wish!" Even with all this emotional honesty, the old Barney that she had known and loved for three years was still under there somewhere. "I told Lily."

"Marshall knows too," he shrugged. "He said that Ted already knows. Apparently we weren't very good at hiding it from anyone except ourselves and each other. I guess it's true what they say about love being blind. I just never thought I would actually experience that old cliché for myself."

"What are we going to do about Ted?"

"Nothing, there isn't anything to do. Robin, if I thought I could fix this, I would try to do it for you. I don't want you to have to worry about this. I hate that it's hurting Ted, too. However, I don't think that we can be the ones to fix this. We told him the truth. He gets to decide how he is going to react from now one. I am not going to beg for his friendship this time. I already paid my penitence for our little hookup. Like I said, I won't apologize to him for having a family with you. As much as I love Ted, I love you and this baby more."

"Say that again."

"Which part?"

"Just that last sentence," she implored. "Say it again."

"I love you and this baby more," he repeated before being rewarded with a long, lazy kiss. He could honestly spend all day just kissing Robin. He reveled in the soft graze of her hand on his cheek, the little sighs she moaned while they kissed, how she nibbled greedily on his bottom lip. "I can't believe I just said that."

"Oh, trust me, I'm in shock over here myself," she giggled as she leaned her head on his shoulder. It was surreal after the weeks of buildup between them that their love had come tumbling out on the night where Ted had blown up at them. "This is going to get even messier and more complicated before it's over."

"Probably, but I'm up for the challenge," he promised. "Seriously, Robin, you don't have to worry about me anymore. The only question I had weighing on my mind was finally answered. Knowing that you love me assures me that I'm doing the right thing. This is what I want. You are what I want."

Robin wrapped her arms around him again and slung her legs across his lap. "I know what you said earlier about us having sex, but I'm not there yet," she told him.

"I just joking, Scherbatsky," he assured her. "Besides, I'm not sure that my body is quite up to doing that yet. I'm still healing."

"Well, if we can't do that, would you be opposed to still coming to bed with me?"

"To...?"

"Just to hold me, Stinson," she laughed as she crawled off the sofa and brought his chair back over to the couch. She helped Barney move into the wheelchair and escorted him into her bedroom. Then, for the first time in a long time, on the eve before her first ultrasound, Robin spent the night in the arms of the man that she loved.


	10. Chapter 10

Robin inspected herself carefully in the mirror, turning to the side as she rested her hands over her abdomen. She strained her eyes as she squinted at her reflection, trying to imagine what she would like in just a matter of a few weeks. The swelling, the weight gain, the bags under her eyes – she knew that all of the physical manifestations of pregnancy were inevitable. However, for the first time in her life, she was looking forward to being anything less than perfect. She couldn't wait to embody all the little imperfections that went along with being pleasantly pregnant.

She felt his presence as her eyes raised to meet his in the mirror. Smiling self-consciously, she couldn't help but feel the familiar rush of warmth as a deep blush crept up her neck. "Hey," she whispered as he hobbled toward her and wrapped his arms around her waist. It was his first day out of the wheelchair, and although she could tell he was struggling, he was determined to walk into the ultrasound appointment at her side. "I don't know what I am going to wear to this. The doctor said to wear something comfortable, but I want to look cute. I don't want to look back on this day and think about how ridiculous I looked."

Barney rested his chin on her shoulder as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Scherbatsky, I'm not exactly sure what you think today is going to be like, but I can say with some degree of certainty that you're not going to remember what you were wearing when you think about this day. You are going to remember that this is the first time that we met our baby. Besides, you always look beautiful no matter what you're wearing."

Grinning at his reflection in the mirror, she decided that he was right and that she was being silly. "Let's just go, I can wear this," she declared as she turned around in his arms. Barney allowed her to kiss him briefly before pulling away from her to search her eyes. "I'm a little scared. What if something is wrong with the baby? I know that this is just standard protocol, but there is a chance that they could find something."

"You have got to stop worrying. There is no way there is going to be anything wrong with our kid," he assured her confidently. Robin helped guide him back into the living room so that they could finish getting ready. Barney was still having a hard time doing the normal things like getting dressed on his own. He sat on the edge of his hospital bed while Robin knelt down to help button his shirt. There was something so sexy about having a woman dress him that it took all Barney had not to lunge at her and undo all their progress. "Besides, did you forget who the parents to this baby are? I mean, c'mon, Robin. You're awesome, I'm legendary. Together, this kid is going to be awesomely legendary."

"I love your logic, Stinson," she giggled as she pulled the final button through the top loop. Robin wasn't a woman that giggled. She laughed or chuckled, but she didn't ordinarily giggle. Barney Stinson made her giggle. "You always make things easier without even trying. How do you do that?"

"I actually try pretty hard," he confessed before she helped him to his feet. He followed her slowly over to the coat closet where he retrieved their leather jackets. They were both made of the same smooth black calfskin, and he couldn't help but smile a little at the site of their things intermixed together. At this rate, he didn't care if he ever went back to his apartment. Just a quick upgrade in the electronics department, and he would be all about living with Robin for the rest of his life. Barney shivered. The thought of forever was still a little intimidating to former eternal bachelor. He held out the coat and helped Robin shrug it on before she returned the favor. "So, are you ready?"

Robin looked around her apartment, knowing that she would leave it one woman and come back another. She was already pregnant, but when she came back here, she felt like she would finally be a mother. It wasn't a feeling she had ever wanted, much like she had never planned on falling in love with an egotistical jerk like Barney. However, in keeping with the theme of giving her what she needed rather than what she wanted, Robin was incredibly happy to both be completely in love with a man that she now knew was secretly a softy and shamelessly looking forward to a lifetime of memories with their precious son and daughter.

The ride over to New York-Presbyterian Hospital was quiet in the taxi. Once Barney had found out Robin was pregnant, he had immediately called one of his friends from college that was both a doctor and a father. He had recommended the hospital because it was the best place to give birth just in case anything was to go wrong. After finding supportive material in his extensive research online, he had agreed with his friend's recommendation and convinced Robin to find an obstetrician among their qualified staff. There wasn't a lot he felt like he could contribute to the entire process, but this was something he could do. He could make sure that both Robin and their child got the best possible medical care in New York City.

An orderly was waiting for them at the curb when they arrived per their doctor's request. She knew of Barney's special circumstances and had promised to find a way to accommodate the situation. Barney nodded at the man gratefully as he made the transition in the hospital-issued chair. The plan was for him to take it upstairs and then stay with Robin in the waiting room until she was called in. He wanted to walk in there holding her hand, but his physical therapist was still insisting that he take it a little bit at a time.

"Robin Scherbatsky," she announced to the nurse sitting behind the glass window in the admittance room of the OBGYN wing. The older woman told her to sign the check-in sheet and handed over a clipboard of forms for her to fill out. Robin scrawled her name on the page and headed over to sit next to Barney while she filled out the paperwork. He was busy finding the hidden pictures in the latest edition of _Highlights_ magazine, giggling as he struggled to make sense of the paper clip disguised as a fence post.

Ten minutes later, once Barney had checked off every item from his list and Robin had returned the clipboard to the nurse, the bubbly doctor came out into the main waiting room and announced that they could follow her back to a private room. "I don't believe we have met yet, Mr. Stinson. I am Dr. Webber," the blonde introduced herself as she handed Robin a paper gown to change into. "I will just give you a few minutes to change and we'll be right back with an ultrasound tech to get you set up."

Robin politely thanked the doctor before she pulled the door firmly shut. Barney leaned back in his chair and gaped unabashedly at her as she started to unbutton her oversized cardigan sweater. "I don't think so, Stinson," she sneered as she indicated for him to turn around. He winked at her saucily before turning toward the window. He could still see the faintest reflection of her changing in the window. "Alright, I'm decent."

Crossing the room, he carefully tied the thin straps of her gown behind her neck before laying a soft kiss just behind her left ear. "I can't wait until I get to take this off you later," he whispered into her ear before moving away from her. She turned around and stared at him with a hard look in her eyes and her hands on her hips. "Come on, Scherbatsky, shake it a little for me."

Her feigned hard exterior fell away as she burst into laughter at his typical suggestiveness. The doctor came in looking confused at the party the two of them seemed to be having in one of her examination rooms. "Well, why don't you get up on the table, Robin, and I will get this machine started," she informed the patient before flipping on the machine. A technician came in to help apply the cool gel to Robin's still-flat stomach. Barney sat up by her head, completely entranced by the entire process. The woman swabbed the goo over her tan skin before handing the doctor the wand that would allow the image of their baby to appear on the screen. "This might be a little cold."

Robin didn't hear the doctor's warning as she looked up into Barney's eyes. His gaze was fixed on the small color screen and lit was anticipation of finally seeing the baby they had been waiting weeks to finally meet. "Well, look at that," he mused as the doctor fell onto the baby's heartbeat. It was still a tiny image, barely bigger than those Mexican jumping beans he'd bought out the back of _Mad_ magazine when he was a kid. "Robin, do you see it?"

She suddenly remembered an episode of _Friends_ where Rachel had cried because she couldn't see her baby when she went to an ultrasound appointment with Ross. She had never really understood why the woman had gotten so overly emotional, but she couldn't imagine how awful she would feel if she didn't see the magic that was going on in front of her. "That's our baby," she murmured.

Barney reached down for Robin's hand as the doctor pointed out different things they were seeing on the screen. She then moved the ball over Robin's stomach as she grimaced at the screen. Dr. Webber only stopped when she came upon a second flashing burst of white and another rapid bass line. "Well, would you look at that…"

"What is it?" Barney asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Absolutely!" the doctor chirped as she reached up to press the print button to make copies of the ultrasound for the proud parents. "Actually, I have great news for you. Your babies are completely healthy and perfect."

"Babies?" Robin asked with a raised eyebrow. "Did you say babies? As in plural? There is more than one in there?"

Dr. Webber nodded confidently as she handed up the color printouts for Robin and Barney to inspect. "Here is the first one," she explained, pointing to a small blur in the first image. "This is the second baby."

Barney stared at the duplicate images. "We're having twins." It wasn't a question or a cry. It was a simple statement of realization and confirmation. They weren't just going to be parents, they were going to be parents two times over. "We are having twins."

"Yeah, Barn, that's what she said," Robin said softly as he squeezed her hand. She was about to remind Barney that they could do this and assure him that they would get through it together when he captured her in a surprising kiss. He pulled back slightly to press his forehead to hers. "This is a good thing?"

"This is a great thing," he confirmed as he brushed a soft kiss over her lips. "I love you."

In a former life, Barney Stinson would have been too scared to even show up at an appointment with his baby's mother, let alone admit that he was completely in love with her. Robin would have been nothing more than a fling with an inconvenient aftertaste. He would have put in the necessary face time until he could sneak out and head to MacClaren's for a single malt scotch with a side of whatever bimbo was sitting at the bar. However, that Barney was long gone. What remained was the man who was completely in love with his best friend, a responsible partner in this new parenthood journey and a father that couldn't wait to peer over the edge of a crib at his beautiful children.

The doctor told the couple that she would give them a few minutes of Robin to change before excusing herself to check on another patient. Robin quickly discarded her gown in favor of the soft cashmere cardigan and faded jeans that she had come to the hospital in. When she was fully dressed again, she came over and perched at Barney's lap so that they could look at the pictures again. "Yep, awesomely legendary," Robin agreed as she traced the faint outline of their babies.

Barney leaned his head against Robin's and covered his hand with hers. "I'm never going to forget what happened here today. It's so amazing," he proclaimed as they both stared at the colored photographs. It was the most beautiful site either of them had ever seen, and they just couldn't seem to tear their eyes away. "This is how we met our babies."


	11. Chapter 11

It took Ted three days to cool down before he would even be in the same room as Barney or Robin. Unlike the first time around, he blamed them equally for what he perceived to be as betrayal. It was the hardest thing he could have imagined ever hearing, but even in the midst of that blinding rage, he knew that he really didn't have the right to be upset with his friends. It just hurt like hell to know that the woman he had loved most in his life had fallen in love with his best friend. She had given Barney the life Ted had thought that he wanted with her. It didn't matter that he had Stella and a new dream of a picturesque life in New Jersey, he could only see his own selfish loss.

However, after a long conversation with Lily and Marshall at the apartment, he had seen the error of his ways. It had taken hearing it from his two best friends in the world for him to see that it wasn't just a life that Robin was giving Barney, it was her heart. He had refused to see the fact that Robin and Barney had fallen in love with each other. If he had stopped long enough to see that, his anger wouldn't have been so deep. He would have had more compassion for Barney because he knew how intoxicating it was to fall in love with Robin.

With another long conversation over a round of drinks with Barney and Robin at her apartment, he had forgiven them. In fact, he had also asked for their forgiveness as Barney and Ted shared a bottle of single malt scotch and Robin indulged in a sparkling orange juice concoction Barney had invented the night before when she'd had a midnight craving. It was a routine that would become frequent over the coming months. The five of them would move their daily nightcaps from McClaren's to Robin's apartment so that she could throw up in the comfort of her own home and Barney didn't have to worry about negotiating his crutches through the busy streets of Manhattan. He'd missed going out at first, but after the winter nights turned cold and Robin's stomach swelled, spending the night on the couch with her had quickly become his favorite thing to do.

Then a doctor's appointment and a final meeting with a physical therapist found Barney with the news he had been waiting weeks to hear. He had been both looking forward to and dreading the moment that he was given medical clearance so that he could return to his normal life. He knew that he wouldn't be going back to what he had considered the norm prior to the accident. Before he woke up in that hospital bed, his nights had been filled with empty pursuits of even emptier bar skanks followed by Robin's face on the nightly news. Her face was still apart of his nights, but luckily for him, he got to see it in person when she came home after her late broadcast.

Robin had found it equally disarming when Barney was given permission to live on his own and work again. They still hadn't really decided what they were going to do about their future together. They had only agreed that they loved each other and wanted a family. Taking it day by day was important to both of them. She had long feared that he was going to wake up one day and revert to a former version of himself, but all those fears were put to rest one day when she came home from work to find her apartment empty. Only a handwritten note was left behind on the pillow Barney had declared as his. It directed her to a waiting town car idling at the curb as she came back downstairs into the lobby. A short ride across town left her in front of his apartment building. As soon as she stepped off the elevator, she knew that something amazing was waiting for her inside.

She walked up the long, empty hallway toward Barney's door. He had bought half the top story of the massive apartment building a few years ago when it had gone co-op. There was only one other tenant on the floor, leaving both of them with spacious penthouses that overlooked a beautiful New York skyline. Robin had fallen in love with it on sight, and every time she would come by to visit him, she would spend hours staring out over the sparkling lights of the best city in the world. As she reached her hand up to knock, she noticed an engraved bronze nameplate to the left of the door. Stinson & Scherbatsky. She traced the script of their last names with a smile before slipping a key from her pocket. She finally understood why he'd left it with the letter.

"Oh. My. Gosh." Robin's punctuated declaration was the only sound in a completely still room as she came into his living room. The place was completely dark save for the beautiful skyline and the illumination of dozens of candles. Barney didn't say anything as he came forward and threaded his arms around her waist. Robin pressed her forehead wordlessly to his and reveled in the comfortable silence of just being with him. She loved how he could just let her be. Barney pulled away and she felt his absence immediately. Then, just as easily as he had left her embrace, he reached for her hand and pulled her toward the hallway. Robin wasn't sure where they were going, but it really didn't matter. Maybe he was taking her to his bedroom. Maybe he just wanted to spend the night with her in his arms. She only knew that this was the most perfect moment of her life.

Barney smiled mischievously over his shoulder at her as he led her to a closed door just across the hallway from his bedroom. He had never taken anyone into this room. For a long time, it had been empty because he had never known what he was going to use the space for. He'd flirted with making it a home office or maybe a guest room over the months he had lived here. However, in the end, he had never found the right reason to do anything with it…until tonight. He opened the door and grabbed her hand to pull her inside. With a simple flick of the switch, he lit up the small space and showed her what he had decided to turn the room into. He showed her the one thing that could finally transform his apartment from a place he just lived to a place he could call home.

Robin turned slowly in a circle, taking every inch of the room in. The walls were painted a soft shade of yellow with a hockey themed border dividing them in half. There were framed jerseys from her favorite team hanging on either side of a brick fireplace. Two expensive cribs sat along one wall with matching bureaus and changing tables just across from it. There were two rocking chairs in the corner and stuffed animals sitting atop a toy box in another nook. Robin walked around the room, fingering the soft fleece of receiving blankets and cotton of little tee shirts and terrycloth of bibs. She stopped in front of the fireplace and looked at the pair of picture frames sitting on the mantle. Barney had framed the first ultrasound of the twins in one silver frame and a snapshot of the happy parents together at Lily and Marshall's wedding.

"You did all this?" she managed to ask finally as she turned around and looked at him with a frame in hand. Barney's blue eyes were alit as he moved closer to her. Tears flowed freely down her face when he nodded carefully. "Barney, this is perfect. It's exactly what I would have done."

Sliding his arm around her waist, he pulled her to the closet to show her all the outfits and accessories that Lily had helped him pick out on their massive shopping trip that afternoon. "I have to admit that I had a little help. I might have changed a lot these past few months, but I still don't know anything about shopping," Barney confessed as Robin pulled out a tiny suede parka with a fur-lined hood. "Robin, we can't raise two babies in that apartment of yours. It's just too small. You're going to have to move in here with me. You can get those dogs back from the farm. There is plenty of room here. You can do whatever you want as long as you say that the three of you will live here."

Images of Christmas morning with a doting Barney holding their perfect little son and daughter, surrounded by their dogs, flashed through her mind. A year ago, six months ago, even a month ago, that kind of daydream would scare the hell out of her but now, not so much. "All of my dogs? You do remember how big they are, right?" she teased. "I mean, they might knock over some of that electronic stuff in the living room that you covet so much."

"Lily told me that we'd have to get some kind of armoire or something to put it all away anyhow," he shrugged. "She knows a lot about baby proofing apparently."

Robin never did really give him an answer. She just arranged for a moving truck to come the next week, and before they knew it, they were living together. Their friends only really found out one night after Robin had taken a cab back to his place instead of her apartment in Brooklyn. Lily had a sneaking suspicion that Barney was going to ask Robin to move in when she helped set up the nursery, but it wasn't confirmed until then.

Life at the new Scherbatsky-Stinson home quickly found routine. Barney wasn't working as long hours, and Robin had convinced her bosses to move her up to an earlier broadcast when the late hours started to become too much for her. The babies were growing at a healthy rate, and everything was actually fairly perfect between them. He'd gone with her to Vancouver to visit her parents, and they had gone to see James to announce the pregnancy. His brother had been ecstatic. Her parents had been less so. Her father had cornered Barney after dinner one night, demanding to know his intentions toward his little girl. Her parents were traditional and wanted them to get married right away. Robin had assured him that she was happy with the way things were. They'd laughed about it the entire plane ride home, knowing that even if they weren't ready for it quite yet, they would be someday.

That closeness would only grow over the next several months. Robin finally quit working when the director told her that they were going to have to go to a wide lens to film her, and Barney had taken a long overdue sabbatical so that he could stay home with her during those last weeks of pregnancy. Robin finally went into labor in the middle of the night a week past the day she was due. Barney had stayed by her side during the entire twenty-eight hours of labor, holding her hand and urging her to breathe no matter how loudly she screamed and cursed at him. All of the pain and hell that they had gone through over the course of the last nine months was immediately made worth it the moment they heard their son's cries for the first time. With blue eyes like his daddy's and a mess of dark hair like his mommy's, the little boy was the perfect resemblance of the beaming parents. Minutes later, their daughter followed, and it was love at first sight all over again with Robin's eyes and a mop of dirty blonde hair.

Barney had announced the arrival of Patrick Theodore Marshall Stinson and Jamie Lillian Stinson to a waiting room full of their closest friends. James and Tom were there along with Lily, Marshall, Ted and Stella. He'd led them to the big picture window outside the nursery so that he could point to where their newborns laid. Lily had cried in Marshall's arms as Stella and Ted squealed in celebration. Tom had wandered off to check on their own child, while James had slung over his brother's shoulder and whispered, "Welcome to fatherhood."

Lily, Marshall and Ted were there when Robin and Barney held the twins for the first time. Lily had stood by her best friend's side and gazed over at Marshall. They would tell their friends about their own impending birth in a few days after the celebration of Patrick and Jamie had died down. Marshall and Ted were on the other side of the bed. Barney stood in the doorway later on, watching the four other adults interact with his son. There had been a time when he had felt like he would always be on the outskirts of their foursome, now he relished being right in the middle of it. He had a woman that he loved in Robin, two loyal brothers in Ted and Marshall, a crazy but supportive sister-in-law in Lily and a perfect new beginning in Patrick and Jamief. This was his family – their family. This was how his real life had begun.

**Fin.**

_Thank you to all my amazing readers who have had the patience to wait for my updates over the past few months. I have enjoyed writing this story, however challenging it may have been at times. Your reviews have been very much appreciated. I hope to see some of you take up the fandom with a story of your own very soon. Cheers._


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